Overload

Mood:

By Bloodgroup. Probably one of the best songs I've heard from them. I discovered the band through Lastfm. They're a 4-member electro-pop band from Iceland. They have a very interesting sound. They debuted in 2007. Dry Land, the album that this song is on, has been one of the most successful albums in Iceland since its release. The vid for this is a bit weird, though...It's of one of their live shows.

Jikou Keisatsu was really off the wall this time. Hilarious, though. This time they let Mikazuki investigate the case virtually on her own. She's such a goofball normally. Kiriyama had fallen down a flight of stairs, which resulted in him getting a concussion and forced to stay at the hospital. It all happened when they were interviewing the first person. Who ended up being the killer in the end. Mikazuki tried to video tape every little detail she could of her investigation. She went a little overboard. The episode started with a crazy/trippy dream she had. But, it helped her solve it with a little help from Kiriyama. This time she was the one who explained everything, Kiriyama (when he felt well enough to leave the hospital) acted as her assistant, and she was the one to give the 'I won't tell anyone' card to the killer. She was so happy about it, and I'm kind of glad they let her do it. The case was about a grandmother, who after finding out her son-in-law was beating her daughter and granddaughter (who was just a baby at the time), stabbed him to death. She only wanted her family to be safe. She was very senile by the time they interviewed her, although at times when they didn't suspect her yet, it seemed she was acting. She was trying to forget it all, like it was just a bad dream. I kind of feel sorry for her. But, she won't be arrested because the statute of limitations was up.

In Log Horizon, they defeated the goblin king and most of its minions, if not all. (Not sure if they'll get a reward, since it was towards the end of the episode.) Rudy was saved by Shiroe. Shiroe had come up with a magic contract that would make it so Rudy became an Adventurer if he signed it, and he'd have to join his guild. But, according to the contract, he had to die first as an NPC or People of the Land. Then, he'd be brought back to life at the cathedral like every other Adventurer does when they die. Without Shiroe's help, he would've died. People of the Land aren't supposed to be able to 'revive'. When they die they really do die. There's no coming back. So, it was an interesting work around Shiroe came up with. I wonder if he can save others this way?Also, if they become Adventurers, does that mean they become real in the outside world? Very interesting. I'm liking this series more and more. There seems to be a lot more logic to it than other anime shows of a similar genre. It brings up some interesting philosophical questions too. 

Wrote more of the 6th short story from my nightmare anthology. It's getting to the scary stuff. Played my clarinet. Did some of the general classical solo tunes, jazz tunes, and klezmer tunes. Wasn't too bad. Had kind of a rocky start, but ended up sounding pretty good. 

日本語

Studied a couple more compounds for 氷, and the kanji 表. 氷河 or ひょうが (hyouga): glacier. 薄氷 or はくひょう (hakuhyou): thin ice. When 表 is pronounced as おもて (omote): surface, face (i.e. the visible side of an object); front (of a building, etc.); outside, exterior; appearance; public. As ひょう (hyou): table (e.g. Table 1), chart, list. As 表する or ひょう.する (hyou.suru): to express, show. As 表す or あらわ.す (arawa.su): to express; to represent, signify, stand for. 表れる or あらわ.れる (arawa.reru): to appear, come in sight, become visible, come out, embody, materialize; to be expressed (e.g. emotions), become apparent (e.g. trends, effects).

Finished translating another paragraph from the You Maga article I've been going over. This part was on hand, foot, and mouth disease in children. Kind of a disgusting topic, but interesting. This whole page is part of a long featured article on diseases in children, especially ones for parents to be aware of that are common in the US. Another part of the article is on development, hygiene, etc. All having to do with parents who recently moved to the US, and some of it is comparing to things from Japan. It's very interesting. But, the whole thing runs for several pages...

Read some online articles in Japanese on Mainichi's site this time. I usually look at Asahi's. Both are big newspaper companies in Japan. Mainichi Shinbun is The Daily Newspaper, and Asahi Shinbun is The Morning Sun Newspaper. Mainichi tends to have a more liberal slant. Asahi's not conservative, it just affiliates a bit with the left. So, it seems a bit more neutral, I guess. Anyways, I read some of Mainichi's articles on the Olympics. They have a huge featured section for it, complete with medal counts. Maybe next time I'll look at the more day to day kind of stuff.

Bloody Prince

Mood:

This is another one of Bel's character songs from Hitman Reborn. I think out of all the character songs I've heard from the series, I like this one the most. It shows how sadistic he can be. The video I found of it is a bit odd, but I like that it has the lyrics in both romaji and English. 

I felt really horrible last night.Felt worse when I woke up. Decided to sleep in, thinking it'll help a bit. I think it did, but I slept in later than I expected...When I got out of bed, I felt very lightheaded, had a massive headache, and was lethargic. Almost like I was anemic. (I would know what that feels like since I basically hemorrhaged out for 8 months a while back.) Felt a bit better after having brunch, but I still feel a bit lethargic. (The headache comes and goes, too.) Maybe my 'friend' is coming...Or, I'm not taking in enough iron. Either way, it's kind of a pain.

The Olympics have been interesting. The opening ceremony was a bit bizarre. Some of it looked really cool, while other parts made me think they were high halfway through or something.Interesting way that they showed their history. They edited a lot out...Kind of important stuff too. But, I guess like they said, it's just their oversimplified take on it. They do have a complicated history. Putin kind of scares me. Seeing him at the opening ceremony, and again during one of the women's figure skating programs was odd. Even ignoring the stance he takes on LGBT rights, he looks creepy.I've already heard some pretty crazy stories about their hotels, as well. One of the craziest, to me, is the water. They even told their customers to not wash their face with it. What happens when someone takes a shower with that water? If you can't, how do you stay clean?Also, heard about all the stray cats and dogs they're killing. It all sounds insane. Some of the stories I'm not sure if I should believe, or people are making it sound worse than it is. People are told to not use the internet, because they will most likely be hacked right away. Even the way some of the courses were setup is too dangerous. But, so far most of the actual events I've seen have been great to watch. 

I also read that Sochi is taking this opportunity to appeal to their Jewish visitors/athletes. They've setup 6 Jewish info centers, brought 12 more rabbis in (they already have one), they have a Jewish Community Center (JCC), they've asked all the hotels in Sochi to serve kosher food, everything including individual services are available in 6 different languages (English, Hebrew, Russian, Spanish, French, and German), and they have a synagogue but will also have services at 2 hotels. Even their JCC has a slogan saying 'welcome home'. Jews are slowly returning to Russia, but this seems like they are almost desperate to get more. It's very interesting, though. 

Valentine's Day is coming up. I have very mixed opinions about it.I love the candy, chocolates, and the idea of celebrating love. But, having been dumped on that day, and being single puts a huge damper on it. (I've actually been ok with being single. Sometimes it's actually nice, but it's the seeing lots of couples get lovey-dovey on that day that gets to me.) Some people have called that day Anti-Valentine's Day. But, I think that's kind of spiteful and mean.Maybe for me it should be called Chocolate and Love Day? The love part doesn't have to be romantic. (And, we should probably show our love everyday, anyways.) Even the full name of the actual holiday has always bugged me a bit. St. Valentine's Day. It has Christian roots, and I'm not Christian.I get that its been so diluted now that it's basically a commercial holiday, but it still can be slightly unsettling to me. A lot of Jews apparently feel similar. (Just read an article recently on it.) Not sure about people from other religions...

I finally got to watch the finale of Monsters on Sunday. They didn't post the finale for so long, I kind of gave up on it. I was looking through the new site I'm using, and they had it. Apparently, it took a while for them to upload the finale, as well. Several months after it initially aired. I loved this series so much, so when I saw that it was up, I had to watch it.I figured out who the killer was almost at the beginning of the episode, which was long before they had an inkling of who it was. But, I like the process they go through to get to the truth. It's rather entertaining. Especially to see how both the main characters act towards each other and the people they investigate. It seemed like, evidence-wise, it was a difficult case. It's one thing to know who did it, it's another to actually have the proof to back it up. It ended with Hiratsuka leaving a letter for Saionji to find. Saionji recently had a nightmare where Hiratsuka left a letter saying he'll never come back. There were cobwebs all over the storage room Hiratsuka uses as an office. In this actual letter, he said he left to investigate a 'personal' case, and will eventually come back. If they make a sequel to this, we might actually find out what he personally wanted to investigate. I kind of doubt they will, but it'd be nice. 

Watched the second season's finale of Toshi Densetsu no Onna or Urban Legends Woman, yesterday. It wasn't as great an ending as I had hoped. They treated it like it was just another case. A not all that exciting one. At the end of the episode she left to find proof of an urban legend in China, with the CIA. She still has many connections with the US. They left it so open, and with a 'business as usual' attitude, that it could easily have a 3rd season. We still don't know who she occasionally talks to. She has his mascot doll, he calls her (she never calls him, she doesn't know his number), apparently he's constantly watching her, gives her gifts, and she's talked about him like he's her boyfriend or something. And, yet she's never met him. They barely touched on it this season. The very last part of the episode was him calling her saying that he's surprised that she's still working with the Americans. He seemed kind of angry. But, that wasn't really a good enough cliffhanger for me. I don't know...

I've been writing more of the 6th short story to my nightmare anthology. Also, besides today, have been playing my clarinet. Did a lot of klezmer tunes, some classical solo tunes, and tunes from another solo book. Sounded pretty good. Did the 'tired' section of the expression exaggeration meme. Junko looked kind of cute. Next is the optional/difficult half, which starts with a 'worried' section. I don't really know why they called it the difficult half of it. Well, at least now I'm halfway through. Junko's cat ears seem to change in size as I go. Kind of funny.

日本語

Yesterday, I continued to study compounds for 美, and started studying the kanji 鼻. The main meaning for 美 is beautiful. (美 is surprisingly fun to write. At least, it is for me.) 美術 or びじゅつ (bijutsu): art, fine arts. 美女 or びじょ (bijo): beautiful woman. 美人 or びじん (bijin): beautiful person (woman), beauty. 美声 or びせい (bisei): beautiful voice. 美談 or びだん (bidan): moving tale, impressive tale. 美点 or びてん (biten): virtue, charm, merit, good point. 美徳 or びとく (bitoku): virtue. 美男 or びなん (binan): handsome man. 美容 or びよう (biyou): beauty of figure or form. 美貌 or びぼう (bibou): beautiful face, good looks, beauty. 鼻 means nose or snout. By itself, it's pronounced as はな (hana), and in some compounds it's pronounced as び (bi). I'll start studying its compounds next time. 

National Cotton Candy Day

Mood:


Its been a very long time since I've had cotton candy. I love the stuff though.So, it's good there's a day for it. Almost like eating air. Tasty sugary air.I realized a while back, that you can buy them in tiny bags at grocery stores. But, it probably doesn't 'feel' the same.


Yet again, today's been slightly cool. It doesn't feel like summer! 


I thought it'd be good to clip Rosie's nails today. She's been sticking to the carpet, pillows, chairs, etc. She put up quite a fight, but I managed to get most of them.To calm her down afterwards, I brushed her a bit. She loves the brush. Sometimes just likes to chew on it. And I gave her one of those little mice toys she loves so much. She seems to have forgiven me.Plus, I don't hear her sticking to things at the moment.


Iryu Sousa's next episode wasn't up yet, so I watched 2 episodes of Bleach. I'm starting to really like Kon. It's sad he gets treated the way he does. Another shinigami named Renji found Rukia, and planned to execute her for exchanging her powers with a human. Byakuya was with him, and is Rukia's brother. Ishida came in just in time, but was easily taken out. Bought some time for Ichigo to figure out what was going on and try to save her. He was severely injured by the end of the episode, though. I like Renji's sword. Kind of cool that it can change its appearance, and looks pretty lethal. I think when I saw the series up to now back in college, I liked his character too. It seems to me like they're taking forever to lay the 'groundwork' for the story. Still doesn't feel like it's really started, and I'm 16 episodes in. I think I stopped watching at about episode 18. So, I'll see what happens after that too.

In Fairy Tail, Natsu, Lucy, and Happy find the book called Daybreak that the client wanted destroyed. Lucy was a big fan of the author, and begged Natsu to not burn it up. Eventually, after he told her it was their job to follow through, she decided to read it on the spot. Meanwhile, the duke finds them, and orders 2 other mages from a mercenary guild to fight them. Lucy finds out that there's some sort of secret to the book, and tells Natsu that she had to read it somewhere else, and runs out of the room. Happy and the duke follow her. Which leaves just Natsu to fight the 2 powerful mages. I remember this from the anime. But, it's interesting to see it in the original design, and to see how different it might be. 


Went to JJ's for dinner. Dad had just gotten a check from Smashwords, for her book. So, it was a nice way to celebrate.I had the onion ring platter, and their sesame encrusted chicken with pineapple and Korean-style BBQ sauce sandwich with fries. Really good stuff!The only problem I had was the bun became extremely soggy towards the end. Also had some iced tea with it. Had an ice cream drumstick with sprinkles back at home for dessert. 


While we were still downtown, we headed to the waterfront. Walked and talked along the boardwalk. I haven't seen such a high tide in such a long time. So, it was cool to look over and try to see something like fish. Didn't see any, but it was still cool. 


Watched a little of the Men's Finals for gymnastics. Kind of surprising. China won gold, Japan won silver, and Great Britain won bronze. There was a bit of a dispute with Japan's score. So, at first they thought they were off the podium, and then their coach made an inquiry. They discussed the score, and after a while decided to up Japan's score. It was going to be China, Great Britain, and Ukraine. I feel sorry for Ukraine. The US didn't do too well. Felt bad for them too.


While we were talking at JJ's, we both decided I needed a bank account. I haven't had one in about 4 years, I think. Maybe longer.I was with WaMu for a while, and then they merged with Chase, and I think I dropped them around that time. 


Also, really need a haircut soon. Done by a stylist, not like having just a simple trim.I wanted to grow my hair out. But, now it's getting to the point where it's easily matted in areas, and it's starting to do something weird at the top of my head.It doesn't look healthy anymore. Its been about 5 or 6 years since I've had a haircut. It will have to be done by someone who knows really curly hair. I want it to still be somewhat long, easier to manage, and look decent. I don't think that'll be hard. Mom always had a problem with me going to have a stylist cut my hair. She said stuff like 'I can do it'. It might feel liberating too.


Also, when I finish my novel, I'll have to seriously think about how to get it out there and sell it. I think I'm pretty close to finishing. So, I might have to get in that mindset soon.It'd be cool if it really sells well. Just motivates me even more!


By the way, I just got an email from OkCupid. It says that my personality's really great, guys want me 'so bad', and that my profile has been approved. I thought it was approved already...Guys would really want me that much?I've felt like I wouldn't be good enough for them, so that was nice to see. Not sure if my personality's THAT great, either.

National Cheesecake Day

Mood:


Yay for cheesecake!When I was little, I hated it. But, I was introduced to it again years later, and fell in love with it. Kind of the opposite of what happened with me and mushrooms.(I hate them now.) I like cherry cheesecake with a graham cracker crust, marble cheesecake, chocolate, and a few others. I actually don't eat it too often, since it feels so decadent.


It's been unusually cool the last few days. Even our norm is slightly warmer than this. Well, at least we're not dying of the heat like some people are in the rest of the country.


Watched the opening ceremony for the Olympics. It was amazing and weird all at the same time.I really like their idea for the cauldron. Each nation had a 'petal' that lit up, and then all of them were lifted and put together, to make kind of a flower. Looked really cool from below, looking up. Interesting how they transitioned into the Industrial Age. The doves were interesting. Thought the big baby and flying Mary Poppins' were very bizarre.The love story/their music for the past 40 years thing was interesting. The Queen jumping out of the helicopter was obviously not real, but funny nonetheless. She seemed to be a good sport about it. I've only seen bits of the games so far. I usually like to watch the swimming, gymnastics, archery, badminton, track and field, weightlifting, and a few other things. 


Had one of the weirdest dreams last night.Mom had called us and said she'll be coming home in a few hours. I told her that she had passed away, so how could she be coming back? She seemed very hurt by this. (It was almost like she was returning from a long trip or something.) She also seemed to be stuck in the phone at one point. It doesn't sound scary when I say/type it, but it seemed like it was and very surreal at the time.I don't know what my thing with phones is. They seem to pop in occasionally in my nightmares. There was one that used to be recurring, that in short, had a train burst out of it eventually. 


I decided to deactivate my accounts with those Jewish dating sites. I might look for more at some point. The ones I was part of were really lame. Some had most of the matches on the east coast. Some were mostly in Europe. Some had guys that were WAY too old for me. And, so on.


So, I joined OkCupid last night. I'm already getting a couple of guys who say they're interested. Plus, a few in my 'quiver' and regular matches. It was interesting to see a flow chart of who I'm really looking for. Plus, the maps of states and countries that have the best matches for me. Kind of surprising. I'm a little addicted to their questions.But, they say the more you answer, the better your matches. I don't like how a lot of them center on sex. I'm not focused on that. I just want to get to know the person really well, before that even comes up.Maybe I'm too old fashioned, but I don't care. Anyways, those are the only ones that irk me. There's a lot more intelligent questions too. I might look at other regular dating sites as well at some point. I'm starting to get a bit nervous about it all, though. But, I think I need to push myself out there.


I've decided on a new routine for walking.I'm going to try and walk for twice as long as I used to, after everytime I eat. That could be just after a snack. Plus, I'm adding 15 sit-ups when I wake up, and 15 when I go to bed. I might feel even better this way.


Went to Silver City for dinner Saturday night. Tried their new gyros. Kind of disappointed about it.Had an off taste. It was good, but didn't really taste like a gyro. The fries were awesome! I also got their brownie. (I rarely ever order a dessert when I eat out.) It was amazing!A soft and steamy large brownie on the bottom, then a scoop of vanilla ice cream, some whipped cream, chocolate syrup and caramel syrup drizzled on top. So good! It was so huge, I couldn't eat it all. Managed to barely eat half of it. So, I took the rest home. I seem to have forgotten about it the last couple of days. But, remembered tonight. I just got to have something awesome later. 


I have an appointment, finally, for my orthopedist. Maybe he can do some tests, give me advice on exercises, or something. I'm still in pain.It comes in waves, but I always have some amount of it. The most painful time seems to occur when I go to bed. Almost unbearable. If I didn't have that icy hot stuff, I think I'd be in a lot of trouble. Anyways, the appointment is scheduled for the beginning of next month. I still need to make an appointment to see my therapist. I seriously need to.


For the first time, I managed to order things from Avon. Mom was the Avon lady. She would constantly order things. There was a really awesome deal on my shower gel. I'm really low, and needed to get some anyways. So, a nice plus. I ordered the vanilla, and banana coconut milk ones. (You had to get 2 for the deal.) I loved the vanilla, so I kept it. But, I haven't tried the banana one, so why not? My fave used to be pomegranate mango, but it's not as 'intense' smelling. Also, got some of the vanilla lotion. So, now occasionally I'll smell like a cookie or cake. Yay!


For the parsha on Saturday, it was the first one for Deuteronomy. Kind of uneventful. Like a recap of what happened before. Tisha B'Av was on Sunday, which is a day of mourning. If you're really observant you're supposed to fast. I'm not that observant, and I can't really fast. My meds prevent me from doing so. But, it's still a very solemn day. You're supposed to remember to mourn the loss of the temples in Jerusalem, the Crusades, Jews of England being expelled in 1290, Jews of Spain being expelled in 1492, and many more tragic events in Jewish history. 

Started Baka to Test to Shoukanjuu, or The Idiot, The Test, and the Summoned Beasts. Also known as just Baka to Test. It's been interesting so far. Pretty funny, seems unique, and interesting characters. Not what I'd call THE funniest, but it's not bad. By the way, I saw a poll asking people in Japan what series they thought was the most hilarious. Gintama was number one. No surprise there! It's awesome! Number 2 was Daily Lives of High School Boys. Which I agree with as well. That was a hilarious show, that came as close to Gintama's awesome hilarity as possible. 


Anyways, Baka to Test centers on Akihisa Yoshii (who's considered the idiot), who attends Fumizuki Academy. A school where the staff rigidly divides the students based on the results of their academic scores. At the start of school, the students take an entrance exam. The higher the grades, the higher the class, and the better the benefits. Class A is filled with the highest scoring students, their classroom's filled with many prestigious items. (Air conditioners, fancy seats, laptops, a free snack bar, etc.) In Class F, it's the complete opposite. Having scratched up mats, wooden tables that constantly fall apart, dust, etc. But, they can fight for the best classroom facilities by calling forth 'summoned beasts' (or avatars of themselves) and battling the higher classes. Their avatar points are based on the subject they decide to fight with. So, if you're good at math, you'll have a lot of points to battle with if they decide on that subject. Really very interesting premise. Kind of smart, actually. 


I've started chapter 17 of Alliance. I don't know why it took me so long just to start it. But, now that I have, I can't stop.The only reason I stopped today was because Dad came in to say hello. Then, I noticed my hands were hurting from typing so much. If she hadn't come in then, I would have been in a world of pain.So far, this chapter seems to be rather sad. But, I know there will be a fun part soon, so at least I have that to look forward to. 


I've worked more on kanji compounds these last few days, too. It's really starting to click more, now that I see them being used in words/phrases. Plus, I can see how they pronounce them for different compounds. Good to know, because kanji can have many different pronunciations. Also, still working on that You Maga article, and went over some more Japanese lessons. Read an article in Japanese and watched a few vids about festivals that are currently happening there. Really cool. 


deviantART fave: WILDCARD: Inner Shadow I did not make this! A really awesome painting done by an artist I watch. The smokiness, and overall feel of it, is really cool.