National Meatball Day!

Mood:

I love meatballs! Of course, the ones without pork...There's quite a variety of different kinds out there. They're good with spaghetti, in sandwiches, in soups, salads, etc. There's lamb, vegetarian, beef, and more out there as well. I've made some in the past. They can be easy, but incredibly messy.

Finished the manga, Variante. It was pretty good.The ending was good and bad, depending on how you interpreted it. I kind of feel odd about it.We don't know if everyone died, and the main character (Aiko) may have dreamt that everything turned out fine before dying. (Her legs had been ripped off, and a large cement beam was pinning her down...Didn't look good.) Or, they really did survive, and everything seemed to have turned out really well for them. (They didn't show her legs in that 'dream' or reality.) No one can really tell which part was 'real'. I'd like to think that they survived, and were able to live their lives out normally. But, part of me feels sad about it, even looking at it that way. They destroyed the organization that created and experimented on the Chimeras. So, at least no one else will get hurt in the future. This was surprisingly brutal to go through, too.Psychologically and visually. The deaths were pretty violent, and almost all the characters had a somewhat traumatic past. Plus, once Aiko found out that the Chimeras were once human, she realized she was really killing human beings. She went nuts. The whole story was like a crazy messing-with-your-head ride.

Also, finished the manga, Dawn: Tsumetai Te or Dawn: Chilly Hands. I liked this one a lot more.It's another parasite/virus type series. It had a really good ending. They had us going for a moment, though.This one had a lot of psychological and graphic stuff too. But, it never felt as 'heavy' as Variante. Interestingly, there was also a trans character in it. The author portrayed them in a respectful way, I think. At first I thought they'd turn out to be a villain. But, she turned out to be a good ally to the other main characters. I use 'she', because she was m to f, although she felt she had to hide it most of the time. Even created a group for 'outcasts' where she can feel comfortable being herself with other people who feel the same or that they just don't 'fit' in. She also secretly had Nightshift, which is a virus that turns people into zombie-like 'monsters'. Only, like the main character, Nagasawa, she can learn to control and live with it. Nagasawa was very supportive of her, especially at the end. Taking her out on a 'date' and telling her she's a beautiful lady. (He already had a girlfriend at this point, and she supported her too. They became close friends when they thought Nagasawa died.) Anyways, it turned out that the main doctor also had Nightshift. He kept telling Nagasawa that he needed him to study the effects, and yet he was one of them...He said Nagasawa was special, because he had the first attempted virus strain. It turned out to agree more with his body than the previous patients. (Nagasawa got it by accident after a rat bit him.) It's more 'pure', too. Originally the virus was designed to help cure things like cancer. It was for a good cause, but something went haywire. For a while, Nagasawa thought he was the only one to survive its effects. If it has a bad reaction with you, you have an insatiable appetite that'll never be sated, your body starts to break down, you grow fangs, etc. until you have a slow and painful death. Some of the Nightshift were able to keep their intelligence intact, like Nagasawa could. So, it was hard to tell who was one during the day. They tended to 'change' at night. Hence why it was called Nightshift. 

Went through a giant 3-ringed blue binder my mom used that was full of recipes that were handed down the generations, some from local markets she frequented, some from newspaper articles, etc. Some of the recipes that were handed down were handwritten by her. The oldest recipes were from one of my great grandmothers on her side. I think she asked her or her mom (grandma wasn't very into cooking, if I remember correctly) about them, and wrote them out. I recognized some of them, others sounded really good and I wonder why I never had those dishes.There was also a large section full of Jewish recipes. Some come in handy especially for Passover. So I've actually used some of these already. I got rid of a lot of the other recipes. Some were pork or shellfish-based. I don't eat that kind of stuff.Some of the others I tossed were just really bizarre sounding. There was also a 'recipe' on how to make oatmeal. If you really need instructions, it's usually on the container...Some of the dessert recipes I want to keep sound very simple, but very good. It was very interesting to go through.

I also went through all our Jewish cookbooks in general to prepare for what I might make for Passover. Some of the recipes sound really good!The things I might make from those cookbooks in addition to the usual: Kefte Prasa or Fried Leek and Potato Pancakes, Nanaeya or (lamb) Meatballs with Garlic and Minty Sweet and Sour Sauce, Mina de Espinaka or Matzah and Spinach Pie (it has feta in it, too), Orange Chicken Stir Fry, Tried and True (Passover) Chocolate Cake. The first 3 are actually Sephardic recipes, but even though I follow Ashkenazic dietary guidelines for the holiday, they still seem to follow that. Sephardim are Jews who originated from Spain and the Mediterranean. Ashkenazim are Jews who originated from Germany and eastern Europe. (Which is where that side of my family came from.) There are other ethnic groups that Jews classify themselves as, but these tend to be the largest groups. They also tend to clash when it comes to the holiday. Simply because they have different restrictions, and Ashkenazim seem to have the most limited diet during it. Apparently, this is a big deal in Israel. Also, many Ashkenazim feel they can't attend a Sephardic seder (lit. 'order'. It's really a symbolic dinner that goes in a certain 'order') because of it. Anyways, these 3 sound very interesting. I might do the chocolate cake instead of the almond and cream torte. It sounds like it'll be a lot easier. Although, I remember that the torte wasn't nearly as complicated as I expected last year. I have a hankering for chocolate and it doesn't use very many eggs...So, why not?

I'll make Passover popovers like I usually do, as well. Everyone seems to like them.They're super quick and easy to make. Depending on how big the chocolate cake ends up being, I might make a Passover angel food cake. We have an old mix for it. If I make that, maybe I'll put some chocolate syrup or fruit over it. I'll be making matzah granola for breakfast, too. That stuff is awesome!It's matzah farfel (small pieces of matzah), honey, oil, raisins, nuts (I like either walnuts or pecans, sometimes both), and whatever else you'd like in your cereal (sometimes I'll add dates). Might make some potato kugel (like a potato casserole), since we still have a mix of that. 

There will be a few other things to make, too. The holiday lasts for 8 days. It starts the night of April 3rd this year. (It's coming up quick!) The first 2 nights are big, and we have seders for them. We tend to hold one of them, and usually we go to our friends' seder for the other. This year it'll be just Dad and I for our seder. So, it's a lot less food to worry about quantity-wise, but still have to plan it out. For our friends' one we usually just have to bring more popovers and a salad. Lots of people usually show up, too. We haven't had any word from them as to which night they'll have theirs. We tend to trade off with them. When they have the 2nd night, we'll do the 1st, and vice a versa. The 1st night feels a bit more of a to do, simply because it starts off the holiday. 

Also, for most of the holiday, the food for it will be just for me...So, I have to think about things in individual portions. And, how long it'll take for one person to eat something. It's a bit different than thinking 2 people will be following it, like we had it when Mom was around. Dad doesn't follow the dietary laws for the holiday. She's not Jewish, but enjoys the seder part of it.

I also looked through another pile of my mom's that was Passover-related. It was full of haggadahs (like guidebooks to the seder), printouts of outlines on how she wanted our seders to go, extras to enhance it, handwritten notes on what to get, etc. It was kind of like a treasure trove, but most of the printouts I have no use for...The oldest 'outline' for ours was when I was 13. Found a haggadah that seems to be as old as me.I'm keeping the haggadahs, obviously. (Except for a weird contemporary one that adds a bunch of side stuff. Probably more for studying than for an actual seder.) I could use those for my own future seders. There was also a hacky-sack like ball with a matzah print pattern on it. It's a matzah ball!Found another matzah sweeper. (It helps pick up crumbs after eating matzah, which is cracker-like. We had another one out in the open in a different area.) Yay!Also, found a megillah printout that was in Hebrew on one side and French on the other. Not sure why a Purim thing would be mixed up in with the Passover stuff, or why it was in French...All in all it was very interesting. 

Made an appointment to get my hair trimmed next month. Haven't had it trimmed in a couple of years. Before that, I didn't see a stylist for around 6 years. I've been growing my hair out for a while. I really needed it styled a couple of years ago, and I like the one the stylist came up with.Been using it ever since. It's kind of made me like it even more. I have a few reasons for growing it out, but it needs to have a decent style.That's what I got last time. Now I'm thinking it just needs the trim. Not a new look or anything. Apparently, I'm going to get the same stylist as last time. Even though the company changed its name, she's still with them. Yay!She's also their go-to person for curly hair. They asked me if I wanted a consult with her to talk about her 'diva' style haircut. No, I'm sorry, I don't want or need something like that...

For last Friday's cleaning day, I used Endust on my bathroom door, the frame, and the bathroom cabinets. They look brand new now!I don't think I've seen it this clean in years. I tend to forget about the door and outside of the cabinets. Also, tried to lift off some of the weird stuff from the inner doorknob. I used CLR, mouthwash, Endust, Windex, and a few other things but it didn't do much.Even used an electronic toothbrush I kept just for cleaning to help 'polish' or buffer things. Everywhere around that area on that knob is nice and sparkly now, though. I also tried to put the curtains back up on the upstairs window that you come face to face with as you go up the stairs. Got the curtains on the rod and all that. It's really a 2-person job, and I'm noticing more and more lately that I'm too short for many things.(I lost 2 inches after I lost all that weight, but it feels like those 2 inches were a big difference. I'm back to the height I was in junior high...) With being at the tallest part of the step ladder, I could barely reach what I thought was its latch. Turns out the things that hold it up on the wall are broken, and it won't hold it anymore. I really tried to get it up there, though. I probably looked like an idiot while doing it. 

Started reading Tousei Gensou Hakubutsushi or A History of Present Day Illusions. Kuroshitsuji or Black Butler and Ao no Exorcist or Blue Exorcist are both updated once a month. (Cool that I've caught up with both of these series!) When they're not up yet I'll read this. It's been very interesting so far. It takes place in the early 20th century. In a seemingly ordinary and peaceful city. Residents in general don't notice the strange things that have been happening. Shinobu, in the above pic, is a university student who manages his father's second hand shop. He comes face to face with one mystery after another that most of the time center around items in the shop. In some synopses of the manga online, they say eventually all those occurrences become one story. I think it's starting to form into one where I'm at. Shinobu is kind of mysterious himself. He seems to know a lot about the 'supernatural' or things that can't be explained easily through logical means. So far, he seems to know what to do with these things, too. He rarely mentions his father, and at one point he gestured towards his father's office and asked something. He responded. We haven't actually seen him. He has an unusual maid, too. She's inhumanly strong. (Kind of reminds me of a female version of Sebastian, only more stiff and doesn't show much emotion.) He says she also stands in as a bodyguard. Why he'd need one, I'm not sure. Shinobu kind of reminds me a bit of what Yoko was/did in xxxHolic. She also had a similar shop. This is also a josei, where the audience tends to be for young adult and older women. I kind of like them more than shoujo, which tend to be for younger girls. Shounen is the counterpart to shoujo. Seinen is the counterpart for josei. I tend to like shounen more than shoujo. Josei and Seinen on the other hand, both seem pretty good. They tend to be more complex, more psychological, more mature, artwork can very within their own categories, etc. There are some series that you can't really tell where they fall in the categories, there are some that are labeled a certain way but are popular with everyone, some don't want it to be labeled a certain way, etc. It's very interesting. The lines are a lot more blurred than people realize. 

Finished watching Zero no Shinjitsu or Zero Truth. It was pretty good overall. They lead us to believe that something big and mysterious was happening (pertaining towards Mao's mother's death), but it didn't end up that way. Kind of anti-climactic. I didn't really like that part. They did seem to leave it wide open for another season. I liked the case by case aspect they had. It was very interesting, and cringe-worthy at times (only because of the occasional gross-out factor). It was kind of like a Japanese version of Bones. The main character, Matsumoto Mao, rarely shows emotion. She's cold and methodical towards her work and coworkers. She's exceptionally bright. Mishaps happen kind of similar to when the interns mess up in Bones. (There's a scene in Zero where all 3 MEs that sniffed the stomach contents of the deceased passed out at the same time. The deceased person still had remnants of poison in his stomach.) The detective is hot-headed, constantly betting on things, doesn't care about what the chief will think, and often goes off on his own. Slight hints of Booth there. There are some other similarities, but they still kept things fresh. Plus, it was a Japanese drama, so they do things a bit differently. I guess they have a different 'formula' for their medical/mystery/detective shows. The ending theme song was kind of cool. I'd watch the 2nd season if it happens. 

Tried to make some hamantaschen for Purim, but they lost their shape. Although, some stayed in slightly triangular shapes, just not the way they started out as. I thought getting store-bought sugar cookie dough that was in a tube would make it easier to cut, and form them. If I do it this way in the future, I won't use sugar cookie dough...The flavors this time were: lemon, apricot, and chocolate. At least they still taste good. They have those flavors, and the outside ended up crisp while the inside of the cookie was nice and chewy. It was perfect that way.

Jyo Agya

Mood:

Or in the romaji (Japanese to Roman letters) 'Joo Aagyaa'. It's a Hindi phrase, meaning: As You Wish. This is from the first soundtrack of Kuroshitsuji or Black Butler. It's one of Agni's themes. He's Prince Soma's butler. At first, they came from India to England to find one of Soma's maids. They reappear every so often throughout the series. Agni was once a Brahmin, which is the highest class in the caste system. His name used to be Arshad, and he became a criminal. Eventually he had neither faith in a G-d nor humanity. The day he was about to be executed for his crimes he was saved by Soma. After Soma's attendants told him that he wasn't allowed to stop the execution, he cut Arshad's hair and told him he is to be reborn with a new name and new life. Arshad, now Agni, accepted Soma's offer of joining him, because he revered (and still does) him as a G-d. He'll do anything to make him happy. (Even if it seems like he's betraying him at first. It's all for Soma's sake.) He's also very good at Indian cooking and martial arts. The song is quiet and relaxing at first, but picks up eventually. The music from the first soundtrack is amazing!So diverse in genres! Ciel's in the vid.

Started watching Guu Guu Date Neko de Aru, or Guu Guu, The Cat last Friday. The official English version's spelling of the Guu Guu part is apparently Gou Gou, which doesn't make sense.It's supposed to sound like 'goo', like in the word gooey. Although, it's really based off the English word 'good', they pronounce it as 'guudo'. Gou Gou sounds like your saying: "Go! Go for it!" Weird. (Maybe they thought it'd be a combo of both?) Anyways, this is based off of a manga. The manga was adapted into a movie before the 4-episode miniseries was put out. I haven't watched the movie, but I'm thinking I will after I finish this.It's really very well done. The people seem 'real' and human. Asako lives in Tokyo. She's a popular mangaka or comic artist/creator. Her cat Ca Va (pronounced like the term 'ca va' in French) is the love of her life, and eases her stress of meeting her deadlines. Suddenly he dies, and she's thrown into a deep depression. She has no appetite, no motivation to draw, doesn't want to go outside, and not much motivation to do much else. Her editor comes in periodically to check on her after that. Usually he brings ready-to-eat meals and other groceries for her. He suggests that she move to another apartment, and she agrees. Eventually, he persuades her to go to the park with him. When she goes, she meets a homeless man who's trying to take care of a kitten. The kitten is sick and has a horrible flea infestation. He says he likes to carry him in his jacket, so the fleas transfer to him...She keeps coming back to the park to see the kitten and get to know the homeless man. Eventually, he realizes he can't take care of it, and leaves the kitten for Asako. She takes it to the vet to get it checked out, and meets the homeless man for the last time just outside of it. He tells her a little about his past, and how happy he is that she found the kitten. He thinks they were made for each other. Suddenly, her world seems to light up again, and she starts to draw. She names him Guu Guu, after saying that he's "good, good" while they were playing. One of the things I was impressed with was showing what it really feels like when you lose a pet. It's very difficult. They're family members. Also, what it's like getting a new one. That can be a bit of an adjustment, too. 

Started watching Subete ga F ni Naru, or lit. 'Everything Becomes F' on Sunday. The English version of the title is apparently The Perfect Insider. That might actually spoil the show, I don't know yet. A lot of the promo pics and synopses were misleading, too.One of the main promo pics has the 2 main characters looking like they're about to kiss, but it's definitely not like that. There isn't much romance. (Which I kind of like, so I'm happy.) It's based on a mystery novel of the same name by Hiroshi Mori from 1996. That was adapted into a manga in 2001. A visual novel adaptation was put out in 2002. And, there's going to be an anime version of it sometime this year. I love a good mystery, and so far it's interesting.The character Moe Nishinosono, far right in the pic, kind of creeps me out.I'm not sure why. She seems to always have an odd smile. (Although, I've mostly seen the actress play characters that don't smile often...) Anyways, she's a student of the professor of architecture, Sohei Saikawa. (He's to the left of her in the pic.) They're invited to a research institute by Professor Kita, a friend of Sohei's. He wants to show off his low temperature research room. Apparently it's to run tests on buildings and such to see how they cope in low temperature environments. At the beginning, it's complete with models of some buildings floating on what seems to be an ice flow simulation. After showing them around and some of the experiments, they are invited to a late night party in the low temperature room. They had turned up the temp to normal room temp, and pulled out tables and such. After a while they wondered why the 2 students who carried out the experiments in front of their 'guests' weren't there. Their cars and belongings were still there, though. So, they looked around. They found them both murdered in 2 separate locked rooms. Later, they found someone that had gone missing 2 years ago (they thought he went crazy and ran away somewhere) in a hidden room. Also, was locked from the inside. He was there the entire time, and since the room was locked up tight he was mummified when they found him.Moe met an inmate through a video feed at a high security jail at the beginning of the episode. Apparently, this person was so dangerous they never let people see her in person. She has multiple personalities, and killed her entire family. Or so she says. She's supposed to be extremely intelligent, and I almost felt like she was a robot. I'm not sure what she has to do with this...But, she was the one that said: "Everything Becomes F". She also kept saying that the number 7 was special and lonely. So, maybe that has something to do with it. Not sure what she meant by F...Guess I'll have to find out. 

Also started Zero no Shinjitsu or lit. Zero('s) Truth, on Monday. I'm still debating whether I like it enough to continue it.The main actress who plays Moe from F, also plays a lead role in this one. Only, she's playing a similar character to what I've seen in other dramas with her in them. Eccentric, doesn't smile, extremely intelligent, etc. This one seems more so. Kind of like a Bones character. Her name's Mao Matsumoto, and she studied forensics at an early age at college in the US. Also, has an extremely high IQ. According to the synopsis, she suddenly becomes an 'ordinary' person at some point. She started working as a ME, and her coworkers are unsure of her until she solves her first criminal case. She seems to be obsessed with dead bodies, and doesn't talk or acknowledge much of the living. Just what's relevant to the body. She even ignores people when they praise her. So, it'll be interesting to see if she does change. Also, the detective that's started working with her is kind of similar. All he cares about is the case he's working on. He doesn't care if he goes against his boss' orders, or hurts others in the process. He doesn't smile much either. 

I was going to start watching Masshiro or Pure White yesterday. It's one from this current season, but apparently it hasn't been posted yet.The drama was supposed to start yesterday, so it's understandable that it might not be up yet. Although, with some really hyped up shows they're really on top of it as soon as it comes out...I don't think this is one of those shows. It's one of those corrupt hospital-type dramas. The main character usually exposes the corruption somehow. Alice no Toge (Alice's Thorn) was amazing in the way they went about it. Hopefully this'll be good, too. 

Instead, I finally watched the finale of Shinigami-kun.They took a while to put up the final episode, and I gave up on waiting for it. I just glanced at it recently again, and saw that it was up. It was kind of an abrupt ending. There was going to be a mass murder (of over 100 deaths), and the Shinigami didn't plan for it. Akuma, or the Devil, was going to aid someone in carrying it out. He generally fulfills 3 wishes, and the soul of that person is his after they're carried out. The Shinigami, (they're Death Gods, or Angels of Death, or Grim Reapers. There are many ways to translate it), usually have to save the person before they have their last wish carried out because otherwise it's another unplanned death. They have to keep the 'balance' of all living beings in the world. There's a set amount that can be alive at once, apparently. (And set amount that will go to heaven, too.) If an unplanned death happens, they have to prevent the death of a person that was supposed to die. Anyways, in the end, they saved everyone. There was only one death, and that was of the perpetrator. His soul was saved, though. Even though Shinigami-kun (he has a specific number assigned to him in order to tell them apart, which I think his is 413) essentially saved everyone, he and his supervisor were both punished for going against the rules. They disappeared. It was basically a death sentence for them. The next thing they show is that they were reincarnated into human beings. But, they still had similar personalities, and had similar physical characteristics. They bumped into each other, and immediately felt like they've met each other before...Akuma seemed to be upset that Shinigami-kun was killed off. He considered him to be different from the others, and seemed to be enjoying himself more when he was messing with him. He did fulfill the perpetrator's last wish, even though he didn't have to. The last wish was to let everyone know about the wrongdoings of the perp's previous company. That company ruined his life after he found out that they were selling meat that wasn't domestic, but labeled it as such. He was going to blow up everyone in the building along with the company employees' families. It seems like Akuma was starting to soften a bit. Especially with carrying out that last wish. He wouldn't gain anything from it in the long run, so it seemed like Shinigami-kun got to him.

Ouroboros will start this Friday, but I'm hoping to start watching it on Saturday. It looks like it'll be very interesting.It has many of my fave actors in it. There's a possibility that I'll make Wednesdays be movie or specials day. I have a long list of movies I want to see, and there aren't that many more dramas that I'll be interested in this time.I wonder if some of those movies will be available through Netflix? It'd be interesting. I just took a long break from watching dramas, and adding more anime in place of them. Dramas or live-action movies have a different 'feel', and I kind of miss them.So, with those new dramas, and adding a movie/specials day I'll get back to having a full week of them.

Started to watch Ansatsu Kyoushitsu or Assassination Classroom on Sunday. This seems like it'll be a very interesting anime. It's eccentric, the humor is dark, characters are interesting, and more. Kind of reminds me of Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (Goodbye Mr. Despair), Danganronpa (only better...), a bit of Gintama, and others. The students have to assassinate their teacher by the time they graduate or their teacher will destroy the world. He's already destroyed 3/4 of the moon. It's a permanent crescent. He's an alien that looks a bit like an octopus with its tentacles and head. He changes colors depending on his mood. He seems to really adore his students. He knows they're trying to kill him, and has even given them hints and tips on how to go about it...The students themselves aren't normal either. So far, one is very into violence and will use it even if he's happy. (He seems to crave it.) Interesting that his name is Karma.Another character I thought for sure was a girl, but turned out to be a boy. I'm all cool with that, but it just surprised me. (Actually, that may make it even more interesting.) He uses his intelligence more than his physical strength. I've read that he's one of the main characters, and that he's one of the most vicious about his assassination attempts. (Even more than Karma.) Although, I haven't seen much of that yet.He didn't really seem central to me, either. Oh well, I guess I'll have to find out. 

I've finally caught up with the most current chapter of Kuroshitsuji or Black Butler.(Which was actually a milestone 100th chapter.) The manga just keeps getting better and better. Turned out the Green Witch and werewolf thing was all a lie. Sullivan thought she was saving the town by making special 'potions' to appease the werewolves that were, what she thought, emitting poisonous miasma. The spells she thought she was working with were really chemical equations. She's highly intelligent and was able to solve many of them without knowing what they truly were. Her 'ultimate magic' ended up being the formula to the most toxic and concentrated type of mustard gas ever invented. (In the story, at least.) So, in reality, she wasn't stopping the 'miasma', she was creating it. The werewolves were really people in werewolf costumes. Her mother was horribly disfigured because there was an accident with the first type of mustard gas that was discovered. Her husband was killed in that accident. Her role was to appear as an elder witch, and act like a grandmother to her. She felt that her husband was living on through her daughter, Sullivan. The amulets she would give people for their protection were really like homing devices. They told the people that were behind it exactly where everyone was. So, being forced to bind her feet based on the Green Witch story was also a lie. It was so she couldn't run away and be 'distracted' by the outside world.She finds out about all this, and agrees to leave with Ciel, Sebastian, and the other servants. Sebastian stayed behind to destroy everything having to do with the formula and research. He was told to go crazy dealing with the people that were left behind, too. He set it all on fire, and slashed up everyone he saw in the area. Meanwhile, the rest of the group ran through the forest, while the security people were in hot pursuit. They were told if Sullivan were to step out of the woods, to kill her on sight. 

Pandora Hearts has been getting more and more complex. There are so many layers to the story being revealed now. My brain actually hurt after reading a few chapters, because so many of it seemed to click and it raised so many more questions.Jack apparently is a lot more evil and twisted than he appeared earlier. (Earlier, they painted him as a hero.) 'Glen' or Oswald wasn't really evil. It's like the tables have turned. We now know a little about how Alice came to be. And, I was right, the 'Will of the Abyss' is her twin sister. Found out more about her mother, who looked exactly like her. Her mother went through some pretty dark and twisted stuff. Stuff that's kind of disturbing.'Glen' is really like a spirit of a man that was named that. That 'spirit' or soul has been passed down through many generations of the Baskervilles. (Still don't know why.) Usually a relative is thrown into the deepest part of the Abyss when the next vessel for Glen is appointed. No one can make it back, so it's basically like being forced to kill a family member. The biggest surprise was about Oz. I'm not going to reveal too much, but apparently he's not human.It's like everything we knew before was a lie...Kind of feels like there will be a lot more surprises and twists to the story in the future.

Wrote more of the 12th short story to my nightmare anthology. I think I have more of a grasp as to how I want to go about it. Again, this is going to be my last short story for the anthology. It may be one of the weirder ones. 

Played my clarinet. Did a lot of jazz tunes and some from my advanced classical solo pieces. It's been a while since the last time I've played, but I sounded pretty decent. Definitely feel the need to play more often again.

日本語

Studied the kanji: 希, 季, 紀. When 希 is pronounced as ぎ (gi): (pref) Greece, Greek, Greco-. As まれ (mare) (usu. in kana, not kanji) rare, seldom. As き (ki): (pref) dilute; rare. As 希う or こいねが.う (koinega.u): to beg, request, beseech, implore, entreat. 希求 or ききゅう (kikyuu): longing, aspiring, great desire. 希望 or きぼう (kibou): hope, wish, aspiration. 季 only has one pronunciation: き (ki). It means season(s). 紀 also only has one pronunciation: き (ki). (I like when there's only one pronunciation. Makes things a bit easier...) It means: chronicle, account, annals, geologic period, history, narrative. Also, did pretty well with the practice and going through my oblivion vocab list on JapaneseClass' site. The oblivion lists are words that you haven't encountered for a while. There's both a vocab and kanji one. I didn't do any chapter quizzes this time. I'm apparently still going up in overall rank for the site, even though I'm not on it as much as I'd like to be. I'm currently ranked at 309th out of just over 60,000 people. That's not too shabby. I usually make it to the top 20 for the day after each time I'm on there. The only thing I don't do much of, but probably should do more, is the readings they have. Although, it's not as polished a section as the others. They quiz you on a news article to see how much you actually understood. There's also quizzes that other users can make.