Mood: Mischevious.. whatever that means..
Music: Tatu - All The Things She Said

Is it just me, or does this song have background sounds that sound like the opening and closing door sound effects in AOL Instant Messenger? o_O

It's about 5am and, at this rate, I'm not sure I'm actually going to go to bed tonght. Hell, even if I do go to be it will be "this morning". Maybe I'll go down around 6..? I spent the last 4 hours catching up on my goddamn Graphic Design projects. I let the studio art self paced stuff slide all quarter and Mr. Fu has resigned himself to the idea that I'm not going to finish them all by the end of the semester. "Yah, yah yah.. is too slow. Too slow. You think you finish? 4 project?" Yes Mr. Fu - I don't have a choice. I'll finish my 4 projects. I got 2 done in 2 weeks, and there are 4 weeks left in the semester.

Ironically all the classes I thought I'd like I've hated. My graphic design and computer classes, my principles of design class (my God, was that the most tedious experience of my life? Yes. It was.) The only possible exception was Photography.

Eek. I didn't mean to go on a rant. I was going to start with what a cool surprise awaited me this morning. I had a math test this morning that I was so ill-prepared for that I was pondering ways to get out of it. Skip class? Nope - if I skip a test day without warning the teacher I won't be there I get a Zero. Damn. Call in sick? I dunno if I could pull it off and it would be awkward either way. So instead I just bit the bullet and went to class.

Test postponed to Monday. Woooooo! 5 more days to procrastinate and wind up in the same situation I was in today! :P


I got into a heated debate (dangerously close to argument) with Alex [Alex Finiak that is] tonight regarding current affairs in Iraq. I've purposely avoided editorializing on such things here because, for one thing, I doubt anyone really cares what I have to say and also because, well, I don't want to piss anyone off. Which, whatever I feel, is bound to happen. About the safest thing one can say, I suppose, is that I support the troops themselves. So I'll say that. I support the troops.

Where was I? Oh yes, Alex [Finiak]. It was actually a pretty good discussion in retrospect. He and I are pretty much at extreme odds of the spectrum on this issue (and it turned out many others :P) and in spite of a few jabs on both sides we ended without anyone being pissed off. Good times.

I decided to hold on to that video camera afterall. Upon closer inspection I decided that this camera had been dropped or otherwise severely beaten sometime in the past. The lens is misaligned with the casing which, I feel, gives me ground to ask for a refund since that wasn't noted in the auction. However, I sort of made peace with it for what it is and decided no one else would love it like I could. So, yeah, it's mine. I dunno what exactly I'm going to do with the poor thing since the audio recording seems a bit fudged up as well as the auto-focus. But it's still smaller than the Sony D8 and lighter. Maybe I'll tape more of Pat's and his friends exploits. Another run of the penis costume perhaps? ^_^
- posted by Brendan @ 5:26 AM 0 comments

 
1. LAST MOVIE YOU SAW IN THE THEATER ? Spirited Away.. again
2. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW ? Trainspotting by Irvin Welsh.. very slowly :P
3. FAVORITE BOARD GAME ? Parchesi?
4. FAVORITE MAGAZINE ? GQ
5. FAVORITE SMELLS ? Lagerfeld, rain on a muggy summer afternoon, the burnt smell of very old & yellowed paper, the inside of those big flower regrigerators at supermarkets..
6. COMFORT FOOD ? Umm.. I don't think I have one.
7. FAVORITE SOUNDS ? The way black film leader cracks and pops over the speakers, an old wooden piano, wind blowing through trees
8. WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD ? That feeling in the pit of your stomach when you're making big important decisions, wrong, lost, angry. AKA - Fear.
9. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE UP IN THE MORNING? I hate morning.
10. FAVORITE FAST FOOD PLACE ? It depends on what kind of food.. I'll just say Portillo's.
11. FUTURE CHILDREN'S NAMES ? Hailey, Keigan or Akemi for girl... boys names I'm still considering..
12. FINISH THIS STATEMENT, "IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I WOULD ... invest.
13. DO YOU DRIVE FAST? Sometimes.. generally I'll go for the '5 over' - damn tickets..
14. DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL ? No. But if I did - I'd admit it. (I'm man enough to admit to my Pucca change purse!)
15. STORMS - COOL OR SCARY ? Cool - but driving in a bad snow storm is NOT cool.
16. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR ? Black 2001 4-door Ford Focus. Weee!
17. FAVORITE DRINK ? Tre Limone (ginger-lemon drink, kicks ass), Iced Tea/Arizona Iced Green Tea w/ honey, Coca-Cola Classic (booo Pepsi!)
18. FINISH THIS STATEMENT, "IF I HAD THE TIME, I WOULD" ... visit every country in the world.. and learn their languages.
19. DO YOU EAT THE STEMS OF BROCCOLI ? yes
20. IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY COLOR, WHAT WOULD YOU CHOOSE ? Blue
21. HOW MANY DIFFERENT TOWNS OR CITIES HAVE YOU LIVED IN ? 1
22. GLASS HALF EMPTY OR HALF FULL ? half empty
23. FAVORITE SPORT TO WATCH ? Basketball.. but I never do [watch it]. Not since the Chicago Bulls fell apart.
24. SAY ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS : (n/a - I just stole this from Sam's blog. But for sake of argument.. um.. Sam's cool!)
25. WHAT IS UNDER YOUR BED ? Lots of empty Priority Mail boxes I never used, piles of old magzines and some weights I never use.
26. TOILET PAPER/PAPER TOWEL - OVER OR UNDER ? Wait.. what? ..... Ohhhhhh! Over.
27. OF ALL THE PEOPLE YOU E-MAILED THIS TO, WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND ? n/a
28. LEAST LIKELY ? n/a
29. ON TOP OR BOTTOM? Bot--- er... *coy smile*
30. FISH OR CHICKEN ? Fish. Although that crazy "sashimi tape worm infests brain" urban legend freaked me out.. WARNING: That link is very disturbing.
31. WHO IS THE GREATEST PERSON FROM ST LOUIS? No idea..
32. ELTON JOHN OR BILLY JOEL? Elton John.
- posted by Brendan @ 9:39 PM 0 comments

 

Mood: Bummed
Music: Eminem - The Kids

I shaved (my face, my face!) on Thursday. And I got a haircut. I'm told that's a good thing..?


Okay. I'm bummed. That camcorder I bought and was so happy about? Well.. I got it. And it's not as cool as I had hoped. The video quality is sweet, but the camera records its own operating sounds - which sucks. The built-in mic is rather weak, but what makes that worse is that there is no mic-in port! Arghh! That sucks. The interface is confusing and I don't like the control layout. Add this to the fact that the LCD screen doesn't work, and it's clear why this was so cheap. I'm already re-selling to eBay and if it does sell, which I hope to God it will, I'll be losing about $50. *sigh* I'm sticking with SONY. My Digital8 SONY Handycam has been very good to me - I think I'll just hold onto that for the time being and save up for a nice and new SONY camcorder. I wanted this little one to carry around at ACen and such, because it's light.. but.. oh well. :(

So help me do that... buy the Otaku no Radio CD :P (Wasn't that transition masterful?)

This was an interesting weekend. Friday night I was with Pat and Amber at the cast party for the play Amber is in. It was a good night and I had a lot of fun. I talked to this other guy I met at length about shoes (which was kind of scary) and basically hung out drinking as much coffee as they could brew. The most fascinating moment of the night? Pat kissed me. On the lips. Pat, and some of his friends, seem to think it's very funny to kiss other men. Pat was trying to kiss this other guy and I said something like, "You never try to kiss me Pat.." - to which he simply turned around and planted one right on me... *cough* I hadn't been expecting that. I just kind of sat there with a stupid look on my face trying to think of something witty to say to that. I'm glad no one had a camera...

Saturday I visited Mitsuwa again and then Ikea. I picked up a bunch of crazy snacks at Mitsuwa and had the tempura udon I'd skipped in Chinatown. The trip to Mitsuwa was very productive.. I got more of those drinks with the marbles in it. Lots of fun :P

I got a lamp at Ikea. I wanted an entire bedroom.. but I just got the lamp :P

Later on I was out with Karen and Alyssa to see Spirited Away. My ninth time. Their first. Unfortunately, well, I'm not sure it went over that big. Each time I see it, I love it a little more because there are sooo many things that you cannot catch the first times. Small details that add just a little more to the wonder of that film. And the train ride towards the end of the film remains one of my favorite moments in motion picture history. It reminds me more of some type of European experimental/art film animation than Miyazaki/anime. But I love it, and the way it feels. I think Spirited Away does drag a little in the middle with the "Stink Spirit" segment, but not much - and the adventure, drama, humor and magic of the last 40 or so minutes make the lull in the midle easily forgettable.

But as I was saying, I'm not sure Spirited Away impressed Karen or Alyssa. Well, I know our narcipletic friend Alyssa couldn't have been too entralled, because she fell asleep and missed 1/2 the movie. And Karen, well.. Karen says she liked it, but I don't think she LIKES likes it :P Oh well.. anime's not for everyone. And Spirited Away is no exception.. I guess.

Incidentally, I'm fairly certain I'm going to start up some sort of new streaming radio show that won't be quite as anime-centric. Anime will certainly be a big topic, but not 'the' topic like for Otaku no Radio. No big surprise to anyone who's been reading this - Alex will not be involved. To be continued...

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So which fairy tale archetype are you? Hmm??
made by Michelle at EmptySpace.
- posted by Brendan @ 1:13 AM 0 comments