As Ed has been posting links for required reading, I figured I'd do that too.
Janet, a friend of mine has written a little ditty on homosexuality in Japan. This is, of course, required reading for you all. ^_^ Here it is, and look under #6.
Y'all who plan on coming to my yaoi/shounen-ai panel at AniBos better be reading. ^_^
It's leap year! ^_^ Whee! The Oscars are tonight, and there's also an Evanescence concert at Avalon (just a 10 min. walk away from Fenway House), but as tickets are $100, I think I'll just have to sit around and watch the Oscars. Here are Skuld's predictions (at least on the things I know something about). Some of them are rather whimsical. ^_^ If I get more than half of them right y'all should give me jellybeans or something. XD
Actor in a Leading Role:
Bill Murray, Lost in Translation
Actor in a Supporting Role:
Tim Robbins, Mystic River
Actress in a Leading Role:
Keisha-Castle Hughes, Whale Rider
Actress in a Supporting Role:
Renée Zellweger, Cold Mountain
Animated Feature Film:
The Triplets of Belleville
Costume Design:
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Directing:
Sofia Coppola: Lost in Translation
Make-up:
The Return of the King
Music/Score:
The Return of the King
Best Picture:
toss-up between Lost in Translation, Mystic River, and The Return of the King
I honestly don't know which one they'll pick. But if it's Lost in Translation or RotK, I'll be happy
Visual Effects:
RotK, maybe? XD (At least I know I've got this one right.)
Writing - Adapted Screenplay:
Tolkien is rolling around in his grave because they did such a horrible job on RotK.
Legolas: ... A diversion!
¬_¬ I rest my case.
It'll be Mystic River.
Writing - Original Screenplay:
Lost in Translation
So that's 13 I've guessed on. If I get 7 right I win. :3 We'll see how it goes.
Finally got around to downloading Mozilla Firefox and Mozilla Thunderbird as browsing and e-mail programs respectively.
I have to say...I really like them a lot and have yet to run into problems. ^_^ And Firefox (formerly Firebird) is a really fast browser too. I like Mozilla a lot, so all you IE-using turds can go and run your heads into brick walls. >:( Because Internet Explorer sucks. ^_^
Roni and I have started another Guilty Gear roleplay blog thing, this time in an interesting half-GG AU universe. We'll see how it goes, it has yet to be fully started, but Roni and I have already got most of the background worked out. ^_^
Should haul my ass off to Porter Square to buy some onigiri before my free Combo pass runs out... =_=;; But I'm too lazy. *sighs* Maybe I'll do it later this evening or sometime tomorrow.
It's...FRIDAY!
And you know what that means...
Skuld is gonna head over East Campus later tonight to whoop out some of the Guilty Gear whoopass, because thanks to my clone, I now have a wonderful Chibi Sol keychain. :3 Chibi Sol is currently dangling off one of my belt loops. He better give me good luck and 1337 GG skillz, or I will be extremely unhappy at his uselessness. XD
Also heading to Chris and Tom's place tonight (remember that awesome Luffy&Zoro duo I visited all the way up in New Hampshire over the summer? Yeah, them.) to game with them too...so overall I think it's going to be a very awesome weekend. Gonna head over to Ali-chan's place on Saturday to work the details of going to her place for cosplay...so I'm a busy little slacker bee this weekend. XD
So...
passed more songs on DDR today. I forgot to blog about a week ago that I actually managed to pass V oni. ^_^ Huzzah! I passed Sync Oni today...but I still haven't gotten far enough in Sakura (gah! The slowdown gets me everytime!) or the rest to be able to pass them confidently. Goddammit. ;_;
I need to work on my DDR precision. Too many Greats and Goods. I haven't AAed anything in ages. >_< *shakes fist* Precision! Must work on precision!
Note to self: never DDR in Doc Martens ever again. >____<
Second note to self: bring DDR shoes to Anime Boston just in case... >_>
Note to Amberlee: I've been hosed. I'll answer your e-mail sometime tonight, and if not tonight, then tomorrow when I have 3 hours to kill in the library. ^_^ Gomen gomen!
Episode 72 of Naruto is out, and hopefully chapter 206 will come out tomorrow. Huzzah!
Oh, and I started writing another one of them long fics. I really wish the bunnies would make me stop doing that! >_< I'm mired in 4 long fics as it is! The 2nd chapter of Miles is almost ready to go, the 2nd chapter of AEpochalypsis needs work on, I need to finish the 2nd chapter of the SolxKy I'm doing with Roni, and now Sasuke and Naruto are demanding my attention! AAUUGGGHHHH!!! @____@
Japanese test tomorrow. >_> *glares at fics and punts them*
For those of you who have the latest issue of Anime Play (Spring Issue 2004) the accompanying DVD has interviews from Otakon in it, including most of my Naruto group. Including myself, of course. ^_^ They labelled me "F. Uchiha Sasuke" (F for female ^_~), but maybe that should've been obvious from the start. ^_^;; *sweatdrops*
Now y'all can stalk me too, whoo hoo. Cause if you don't know what I look like...you'll know now. ^_^
Supposedly I, and the rest of my totally kick-ass Naruto group that was at Otakon is finally in this month's issue of Anime Play magazine. ^_^ I spotted the Itachi chick (she was oh-so very cool) already (her costume was also oh-so very cool), maybe they stuck me in there too. That would make me squee. ^_^
I'll have to hop out to Tokyo Kid and grab it sometime today. If any of you guys have it, can you verify? >_>
I'm so po' I can't afford the other 'o' and 'r.' XD This is because I just got my ticket to ACen. I should've booked it a couple of days earlier to get it for $183, but I've got it for $213 right now, which is guess isn't so bad... >_> But...you know, could be better. Oh well. >_> I get shafted often. *shrugs*
Let's just hope either the final will be late (Friday...god, please Friday...) or I'll have enough time to settle down before the con starts and study. :P I can so totally see me around the con, carrying my little con baggie with the program, the fliers, and my study notes for 9.09 >_> Oh boy. This'll be fun. $$insert_sarcasm$$
^_^ But I have tickets to ACen! *huggles Roni, Haku, and Ed* w00t. ^_^ <3
I love my fandom mommy. The fandom that I was in with her (FFX Yaoi, or most notably the Braska/Jecht/Auron) branch of it is the only sane fandom I've been in. (Aside from once being a part of the Hardcore Tolkien fandom, which had very intelligent members and excellent discussion.) And you know, I'm surprised that there actually is a sane fandom out there. Probably because Amberlee and all the rest of the members of fandom do such a good job respecting one another and not being, as Amberlee said to me today over e-mail, "Fandom Ferrets...Small little rodents that get into everything and WILL. NOT. DIE. >.<"
Too true, oh mother of mine, too true your words ring to my experience.
There are some of you, and I love you, to whom that statement does not apply. Thank you for being cool.
And there are some of you, to who that statement does apply, and rather well, and you guys can go boil your heads.
And now, in a grand attempt to stop being bitter, I will head off to dinner and to my gay film class. ^_^ T3h gay always cheers me up. :3
To the X fandom, and a few of the people I know from the X fandom: I have lost all the respect I previously had for those select few of you. You don't seem to care, and I have ceased to. This is my finger to you all. Go fuck yourselves.
On another front (my, don't we seem worked up today? ^_^) Edgar and I are starting a war. He's a Guilty Gear fan, and we started talking about how cool Sol was (which, unsurprisingly is the sort of conversation I am always happy to entertain). Which was...well, cool. Until he said "Sol just needs a woman." At which point I started making all sorts of faces mostly of the O_O! variety. "Sol just needs a woman," he continues, blithely unaware of my horrid distaste for Sol-straightness (tension bar shoots to max instantaneously), "and then he'd be complete." At which point, the yaoi fangirl in me explodes in full overdrive. >_>
So it's full-out war now. Edgar can go and shove it with his SolxI-no, I'm pulling out all the big guns now. Which means...Roni! come help! XD Time for the SolxKy magical girls to bust some shit up. That's right, bitches. Canon whores, make up!
And now, for something completely different:
Maria-sama ga Miteru 7: Wow, shoujo-ai. So much shoujo-ai. I love well-done shoujo-ai. And this is one of the few series I've seen which is actually worth watching if you're into alternative sorts of relationships. There's Rei/Yoshino, Rosa Canina/Rosa Gigantea, and Sachiko/Yumi up the wazoo. God I love this series. Probably because I'm also in a shoujo-ai relationship, and I find myself identifying with a lot of the characters and their issues. ^_^ Finally, a shoujo-ai series aimed a girls, and not filled with rampant fanservice. I like.
Chrno Crusade 12: Bit of a filler episode, but it's still fun. I love this show too. :3
Gungrave 8: Wow, lots of things are happening now. Brandon is very cool, and I absolutely love how they've been developing his character. It's hard to develop a silent, stoic characters like him, but Gungrave is doing a really good job of it. Thanks to Roni for poking me to watch this show. <3 Now I have to poke her to watch Naruto.
Naruto 71: I think they can finish this whole arc, possibly including the Naruto/Gaara fight also by the end of the season. Gee whiz, I hope so. Then we get to have Itachi and Tsunade goodness. If my boobs were big enough, I'd cosplay Tsunade. >_> But as it stands... I might end up doing Sasuke version 2.0 for Anime Boston. Depends on whether or not we're gonna gather a big Naruto group again. ^_^
Off to the library for work now...goddamn, I didn't get as much work as I intended to do yesterday afternoon. Where did my afternoon go? What was I doing? @_@
Ali-chan is hooked to Chrno Crusade, and for some reason we BOTH might end up fighting over who gets to cosplay Rosette. @_@ Yeah, I'll let you digest that for a second. Ali-chan and Skuld are fighting over who gets to cosplay a GIRL. *gasp* I might let her win and cosplay Chrno, because then I wouldn't break my long-ass crossplay streak. :3
And now thoughts on what happened last night in my ever-so interesting tumultuous life... (insert more saracsm here)
I usually tend to reserve judgement on people I don't even know until later, but it's hard to keep an objective 3rd party stance when all my friends are telling me that a certain person is a TOTAL FUCKING BITCH. -_-;; Not to mention that certain people I know and respect have friended this person on livejournal. @_@ Apparently everybody on earth knows this person, except for me. And hey, these are people that I respect, people I'm friends with that somehow are connected to this bitch who has done horrible things to my friends and friends of my friends. >.<
I think I'm going to stay out of this whole ordeal and wait for armageddon to come to me. >_> It's only a matter of time until all hell breaks loose. But until that happens, I think I'm going to build a Secret Underground Laboratory Mwa-Ha-Ha-Ha-Ha (tm) to hide out in should the shelling get too heavy.
Word to your mother.
Thanks to Will, I now have Narutimet Hero. ^_^ Yay for Will! <3 Now all I need to do mod my PS2, and I am so good to go. :3 I've also unlocked all the characters and all the stages for the game. Every character usually has 6 levels in story mode, but Zabusa and Haku only have 4. (Because they fight each member of team 7.)
The Zabusa ending is soooo sweet. And by sweet I mean Zabusa/Haku shounen-ai sweet. (I have this sudden hankering to watch episode 19 now, and bawl my eyes out. ;_;)
The basic gist of the ending is:
Zabusa: Haku, you're no longer my weapon.
Haku: ;_; Does that mean you don't me anymore?
Zabusa: No, I want you, as a human, to live.
Haku: ;____; Zabusa-sama
Needless to say I went all fangirly.
Now I miss Destra and her boyfriend, Avatrix, because they made the best Haku and Zabusa ever. And they were so cuuuuute. ;_;
>_> Someone give me ZabuzaxHaku fanfiction, please. *needs it like crack*
Oh, and I had Naruto dreams last night. See cut below, beware spoilers for the manga.
Naruto 71 has been put out by AonE/ANBU (is it just me or is the Sandaime getting totally whooped on by Orochimaru? At least...I don't remember him losing that badly in the manga.) and the raw scans for chapter 205 are out.
Which means, obviously, that since I am a total Naruto-freak right now, I'm going to download it and attempt to read it. ^^;; Umm...go Kiba?
And huggles for Roni who has bought tickets and pre-registered for AniBos. Now I poke her to work on her Ky costume, because I actually worked on my Sol costume some last night. ^_^
For all you people who live in the Los Angeles area, or will be in the Los Angeles area on May 10...
...DIE. That is all. >_<
Y'all wanna RP in Ea with me. Yes you do.
For those of you unaware, Ea = Tolkien's universe
The raws of episode 71 of Naruto are out. Haven't watched it yet, but am probably going to tonight. Three words: Sandaime, Orochimaru, FIGHT! *shiver with glee* :3
And now...spoilers.
Finished 9.09 problem set. I think it's mostly correct too. Now I just have to do some readings for my gay film class (review of the movie we watched tonight forthcoming) and for social psych. ^_^ w00t! *wipes brow* Also borrowed Castlevania: Symphony of the Night from Mark, who has brought up the possibility of Guilty Gear On a Wall. That is, playing GG on a wall. Because someone has a projector in their dorm room that has composite input. >_> Sweet ass. Sweet ass, I say. ^____^ Can't wait to throw Mark out of his overdrives on a wall. XD
I'm suddenly wanting some Shoudaime/Nidaime (from Naruto) yaoi. ^_^ Oh yes. Does anyone else like this pairing... >_> Or is it just me?
Oh, and Capture the Flag this Saturday at midnight. Who's with me? XD
I love three day weekends. That extra day really helps. ^_^ Too bad I don't get another one until more than a month down the line when Spring Break sets in...oh well. ^^;; Also gives me a bit of punting time before I have to set off to campus to finish/start my 9.09 problem set and go to the 9.70 meeting.
I'm now browsing through Katsucon pictures at FansView. To whoever did the Miss Doublefinger costume, and whoever did the Mr. 2 costume, you two totally rule. ^_^ *grins* I'm going to assume you're part of Shiru/Shelley's group, and the next time I see her I have to remember to glomp her.
Hey look, it's Carrie and Chris! ^_^ And Kayla and Cassie! Yo, you two! ^_^ *big huggle glomps to you both* Sorry, Kayla, don't have a crush on your anymore. :P I already have an S.O. But you're welcome to any hugs at Anime Boston later this April. ^_~
You're an awesome Kankuro. @_@ (Nevermind that you're also the first Kankuro cosplayer I've seen pictures of. ^_^) Carrie, you make an awesome Dizzy. And dude, it's the Sol chick was trying so hard not to stalk at Otakon. XD You guys are all putting me through acute con withdrawl. @_@ I need to go conning again...*sobs*
Oh well. It's not like I had the money or the time to spare to go to Katsu anyway. And besides, it was Valentine's Day weekend, which meant I got a lot of gaming done (FF:CC and Narutimet Hero ^.~) and spent lots of quality time with the girlfriend. <3 And that's worth more than Katsucon. ^_^
Just saw:
Chrno Crusade 7: Aion! @_@ Pretty! ;_; Can't resist silver-haired men you know me. ^_^ Especially if they have ~long~ silver hair and wear glasses. *drool drool* And are voiced by Inoue Kazuhiko. Kudos also to Chrno (Ishida Akira), who is very hot in his demon form. :3
Maria-sama ga Miteru 6: Finally a kiss on the lips! Between Rosa Gigantea (I love her, she's awesome ^_^) and Rosa Canina. Don't let me down, shoujo-ai!
Gungrave 5: I can see Harry growing more and more distant from Brandon. I wonder if Brandon realizes this. I didn't even recognize Brandon as Seki Tomokazu, because he's using his more "deep" voice, and not his usual silly one. ^^;; Brandon is so adorable. :3 There's also a cameo appearances of those Thomas animals that you see in Trigun.
Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto (Someday's Dreamers) 7: Poor Oyamada-sensei. Has a dark and angsty past. I wonder what it is. ^^;; Most likely the death of his old girlfriend/boyfriend. ;_;
Full Metal Alchemist 2: Opening song sucks ass. Would watch more, as it looks very interesting, but completely absorbed by 5 other series I'm trying to keep up with right now. -_-;; So Full Metal Alchemist will have to wait. ^^;;
Oh, and Avatrix has a new layout up. ^_^
In the library now, doing my reading for my gay film class. Nothing much to say now, except that I've got some pretty solid ideas for how I want my panel to go at Anime Boston. I hope they give me a decent time slot, because the slot they gave me last time was pretty fucking awesome.
I have a feeling I'm going to have to do a lot of research and collaboration with people who are very familiar with yaoi manga and homoerotic Japanese film in order not to repeat the same shit I said at the panel last year. ^^;;
...and why do I suddenly have the urge to write SasukexNaruto fanfiction?
Happy Valentine's Day! ^_^
And to the 204th chapter of Naruto, which makes me go all @_____@~! Go Kiba! ...or maybe I shouldn't be cheering him on so hard, because .... umm....yeah, spoilers. :x *not saying anything*
Played FF: Crystal Chronicles with Avatrix, Ray, and Camille last night. ^_^ It's an awesome group game, but doesn't seem to be the kind of thing you'd want to play alone. Thank god Brad is letting me borrow his brother's GBA. ^_^ I just got some money from my sister for my b-day...I wonder if I should save it for my Japan-trip this summer, the plane ticket to Chicago, or buy a GBA SP for myself with it. >_>
Hmmmm...
God, I wish I had money. I'd have everything and their mothers on my cell phone or hanging up in my room somewhere.
Like...Chibi Yondaime! ^_^ <3 <3 <3 Not to mention...KakaIru! Wow, the Naruto manufacturers really love the yaoi fangirls. Check out this nice artprint of everyone's favorite sensei couple together. <3 ;_; They loves us. This is proved also by the yaoi couple clearfiles. ;_____; I love you, Japanese consumerist whores.
So while there's no NaruSasu here...there is KakaIru (as usual) and NejiLee which is another one of my favorite pairings. <3 ^_^ You GaaraSasu people can go and boil your heads. :( And is it just me, or is there something very sketchy about a picture of Kakashi-sensei sitting by his bed? >_> Reminds of a certain Naruto Yaoi Doujinshi Game where Kakashi revealed himself as the man-ho of the village. XD (He let Asuma-sensei do him! d0000000d! :}===-----O)
My rabid yaoi fangirl is being let out. Y'all better stand back.
*bursts into yaoi fangirl chakra* O_o~~~~~~~~
Oh right, and on the subject of ninjas, the pictures from the Fenway House Ninja Party are now up on my server. ^_^ We have wonderful pictures of random ninjas, random ninjas doing ninja things, random ninjas playing Smash Brothers, and a cute pictures of Naruto and Sasuke. <3
And to comemmorate my clone and I meeting each other, have some pictures of us in my room. :P Sillier pictures to follow during ACen, naturally. ^_~
It's Friday, and thank god I only have one class on Fridays! Of course, I have to hang around campus for work for 3 hours afterwards...but you know, that really ain't so bad. They pay me $9.00 now instead of $8.75, so that means I get an extra $2 for the 8 hours I work every week. Yeah, that $2 means 4 games of DDR. ^_~
I just realized that Sync has Oni steps. @_@ And damn, those Oni steps are hard. I must remind myself to start up Stepmania and see if they're there. ^_^ Squee! More songs for me to try to beat! <3
I am officially in love with Candy Star. That song used to own me...and then it stopped owning me...and now that song owns me again. The freeze arrows are actually fun! ^_^ I should start playing with freezes. >_> Alex has been bugging me about that forever, but I've been lame. -_-;;
Mucho homework this weekend, so I've really got to budget my time today, tomorrow, and Sunday, when I work in the library from 1 to 3:30pm. No slacking off! I gotta do my homework! @_@ Especially my 9.09 problem set, but that doesn't look too hard.
Oh my god, the Naruto anime is going so slow. =_=;; It's taken them like...4 episodes to even start the fight with Orochimaru and Hokage Sandaime, and they took all of 70 with the Shikamaru-decoy bit. @_@ Couldn't they hurry it up? This is why I like the manga better. It goes much, much faster, and you can control the speed at which you want to read and how much you want to dwell on the art. Oh, and chapter 204 should be coming out sometime today or tomorrow. <3 There better be some Kimimaro/Naruto ass-kicking action, or I'm going to be disappointed. ^_~
Is it just me, or is there so much Naruto/Sasuke love going on right now?
Naruto: I'll save Sasuke! I gotta save Sasuke!
Sasuke: *in a bucket* ...
Shikamaru:You have to be the one who saves Sasuke, Naruto.
Naruto: GIVE SASUKE BACK, DAMMIT! *makes a 1000 kage bunshin*
Now all Naruto has left to say is "SASUKE'S MINE, BITCH!"
So much love. ^_^ <3 <3 Oh, so much love. ^____^ I throw rocks at you if you don't agree. >.<
They put it off, but three amendments have been narrowly defeated so far, and suddenly I feel all optimistic. ^_^
Now to watch episode 70 of Naruto and finish my homework.
Forecast for this weekend: hosed up the ass. Problem set due on Wednesday, over 100 pages worth of readings due at the beginning of the week (Monday and Tuesday), Japanese quiz and homework on Wednesday, and the paper to work on for lab...could I possibly be more hosed? No. -_-;;
I really wish I had time to work on my Sol costume...but guess what, I don't. And I probably won't until spring break, which is going to be costume crunch time. *sighs* I guess I could work on parts of it by hand, since the black "hem" parts can be the parts that are really holding the red pieces of vinyl together...but doing it by hand is such a chore. =_=;; I guess I'll do that if I get squashed out of FF: Crystal Chronicles this weekend due to lack of GBA.
Looking back on the week, I"ve had it nice and relaxing. Hardly any work got done due to the retreat over the weekend, Ed coming in, and my birthday. ^_^;; Feels oddly like a Monday, though I know it's a Thursday night. *sweatdrops* Hanging with Ed was awesome, we just totally hit it off. We got comfortable with each other really quickly, and we had some really interesting conversations. We had fun too, of course, as I totally got my ass whooped by him in GG. *sweatdrops* Just goes to show how good he is and how bad I am right now. >_> If only I had time to even touch my PS2...
Anyways, the week's been great, but next week...not so good. ^_^;; I'm making up for all the work I missed this week. @_@ The fact that my 9.09 textbook isn't here doesn't help either. >.<
Roni's talk of roleplay has suddenly got me hankering. Again. I haven't done a sucessful group thing in a long time, and I really do miss it. Almost makes me want to app for whatever might be going on at the Assassin's Guild next week, even though I know I have no time to do it.
And I really wish I knew more capable people who've the Naruto manga, because a post chuunin-exam roleplay would kick ass. >_> But as it stands, I think I'm too busy with FF:CC and my other commitments to be able to commit to anything. *sadness* And besides...it might be a better idea to wait until this arc finishes. Which will be...hell knows when. XD
I'm also really missing Tolkien roleplay. I've always wanted to do an "End of Arda" thing way in the future. You know, Feanor returns, Melkor breaks out of/is released from the Void, and all hell breaks loose. Oh yes, that would be fun. Unfortunately people who know that much about Tolkien-verse are even harder to find than people who know that much about Naruto. -_-;; Guys, don't make me so desperate I have to resort to D&D! ^_~
From the looks of my options, it seems that my best bet is just to stay where I am, and do what I'm doing...which is taking up more than enough of my time already. ^^;; Must watch more episodes of Full Metal Alchemist, Chrno Crusade, and Mahou Tsukai ni Taisetsu na Koto. I loves them so much. <3
Too all those of you who came to my birthday party last night and saw me get smashed...I'm ALIVE! ^_^
You guys you left early missed out on the fun. The fun being me making two trips to the bathroom, the second trip of which I almost passed out because of dehydration, and then having to haveKakashi-sensei and Ed carry me out of Sunset because I was to @_@ to move. After throwing up two more times, I felt a lot better. Good enough to sing "Strawberry Kiss Kiss" in Cocoa's car on the way back. ^_^;;
*big sweatdrop* Many thanks to everyone who took care of sick-and-barfing!Skuld. You guys are the best. I love you all. ^_^ <3
And thanks to Cocoa, Leah, Ed, and Adam who also got me presents ^_^ and to Avatrix and Ray who bought me drinks (which subsequently either ended up on the ground or in the toilet). ^_^ You guys all rule, and I love you all. <3
(Oh yeah, and Ed and I are still clones, having ordered the same food at Sunset completely independent of each other. XD *high fives Ed*)
Skuld's 21st birthday is...today! ^_^
All of you coming to my party...meet 6:15 at Fenway and 7:00 at Sunset. ^_^
I have a headache. =_=;; Studying in the library sucks...but hey, I guess somebody's gotta do it. >.< Or rather, I guess I have to do it. XD Nothing much has happened today, except that I really ought to take Japanese VI P/D/F (no way I'm getting an A in that class...ever) and in 9.09, Chip (the professor) made the analogy of action potentials and toilets. ^___^ I can already tell that 9.09 is going to be a lot of fun.
And now...while I punt and wait until I have go to the airport, have two mini movie reviews. ^_^
The first of which I saw as part of my gay class, and the second of which I saw at the MIT-Japan retreat this weekend. ^_^ Guess which one I liked better!
"The Broken Hearts Club" (2000) by Greg Berlanti feels like almost every gay stereotype thrown into a movie and blended for good (or bad) measure. We've got the Studly Gay, the Ugly Gay, the Insecure Gay, the Newbie Gay, the Punk Gay, the Old Gay, the Black Gay, and the Main Character Gay. Did I miss one? Well, they're missing Girly Gay, but I suppose that can be divided equally amongst them.
The problem with "The Broken Hearts Club" is it's subtitled a romatic comedy, and it's neither particularly comedic, nor particularly romantic. There's so many characters you're not sure whose relationship problems you're dealing with, and whether or not these are actually people you're dealing with. You barely get a glimpse in on their lives, aside from the fact that they all seem to be decently well-off, like to hang out at a posh gay restaurant, and have vague hobbies tacked to them so you can distinguish them from someone else in the group.
The problem with the movie is that all the characters are just gay. That's ALL they are. Their personalities are defined by the word "GAY" and all the societal tag-alongs that go along with it, and very few of those characters can be viewed as "real people." While it tries to deal with real-life gay issues, all it ends up doing is touching upon them before fleeing to more happy things, like more group get togethers at the restaurant.
God, at least give me a sex scene to entertain me. Nope. Just implied sex. You know, the off-screen inoffensive crap. >_< This movie sucked the balls of the concept of "mainstream gay," with none of the realism. Boo.
Hush! (2001) by Hashiguchi Ryosuke was a good movie. I wouldn't define it as "gay cinema" in the traditional American way that we define "gay cinema." Well, that's obvious, because it's Japanese. I'm not familiar with gay cinema in Japan (not yet, and not ever in this class, as it seems from the syllabus) but it does raise the stereotypical issue that many homosexuals face in modern Japanese society: the family.
Hush! redefines the view of the traditional Japanese family. Asako, a non-typical, boyish and independent single Japanese woman, is tired of one-night stands and meaningless sex, and after discovering a benign cyst on her ovaries, realizes that she wants to have a baby. But not just with anyone.
She meets Katsuhiro and Naoya one day at a restaurant, and notices that Katsuhiro has the "eyes of a father." And she continues to pursue the couple in order to get Katsuhiro to agree to give her a baby. She does a lot of research on this subject, and in the end decides that a syringe is the best way, of course weirding out Katsuhiro and his lover, Naoya.
The movie goes a little slowly, but it does a wonderful job at looking at the way the youth of Japan are challening traditional Japanese values, and how they deal with the problems of the clashing of the "old world" and the "new world." A nice movie, cute and funny, with the most unerotic heterosexual sex scene ever, and the worst gay kiss I've ever seen. XD
The homosexuality of Naoya and Katsuhiro is subtle, and though their love and caring is very evident onscreen, unlike most "gay cinema" their sexuality is not the central point of the conflict within the movie, nor any major definer of their character. And that, in my book is always a plus. ^_^ Go see this movie, it'll be worth your time, and give you a good glimpse into what issues youth in modern Japan are learning to deal with.
New layout of the month. ^_^ Let's all give a big huzzah for the Naruto manga. Because it's cool and Skuld loves it. ^_^
Ed is coming over here tomorrow to interview with Harvard Medical School...and hang out with me for my birthday. ^_^ *huggles the clone*
So about the MIT-Japan Program's retreat...
Endicott House is absolutely wonderful. It's this old victorian-style mansion, and it's totally beautiful inside. ^_^ Too bad I didn't get to stay in any of the rooms there, unlike Mel and like most of my confederates, I was excited to the Brook Center which is the building next to the mansion. Not even half as nice. ._. They don't love me. *sobs*
We did a lot of work during the retreat, mostly listening to lectures from Pat Gercik on how to conduct business and casual relations with the Japanese (with much emphasis on the peculiar ritual of creating and maintaining good relationships), and roleplaying a Keiretsu scandal simulation game based off a real case that happened in 1993. ^_~ Skuld's group won out, of course, because we have 1337 ninja and negotiation skillz.
Got tipsy on Saturday night from a couple cans of Budweiser, and then proceeded to make a total ass out of myself by karaoke-ing to classic songs like "Bohemian Rhapsody," "It's the End of the World," "Ninja Rap," and "YATTA!"
Didn't get much sleep, but the food and company there was great. I got to know a lot of people fairly well just through the roleplay interactions and meal conversations. Food there was 4 or 5-star restuarant quality, so needless to say I have put on weight. There's food EVERYWHERE there. They put out free soda for you, and free chips/junk food snacks. =_=;; You know I just can't not eat when there's food in sight.
Overall, it was an enjoyable experience, and I learned a lot, so I am pleased. ^_^ As for my pre-weekend Friday rant...I hope that those of you who read the message have, for the most part, refrained from speaking about X this weekend. Though the ban will be lifted on Monday, I ask you guys to take a look at what's been going on in the fandom. Should you decide to go back to the fandom, be my guest. But keep my rant in mind and try not to fall into the pitfalls of the "typical X fangirl."
Thank you all for listening to me and providing a stimulating discussions within the fandom.
The hosage has officially started. I will be unavailable this weekend, as I am heading off to the MIT-Japan program's retreat at MIT Endicott House. Heard the content isn't much fun, but the Japanese food they usually get for us great. ^_^ Can't wait.
Was going to bring my PS2, but I figured it was probably smarter not to, so I could use the evening times for hanging out with friends and studying, since I have a lot of work to do for the 9.70 group session on Sunday, and a lot of work to do for Monday and Tuesday in general. ;_; *sob* Hosed.
On another subject, I now understand what Lise meant when she said she stopped being a yaoi fan. Back then, when I first met her last year, I was thinking to myself, "Wow, there's no way that could ever happen, because Skuld-chan is 1337 y401 f4ng1rL." I can't remember whether or not she quit because of the stupid people in the fandom, but I think that's actually correct. I shall ask her when I have time.
Needless to say, yes, I am feeling a little upset. I suppose I have the X fandom to thank for this. Thanks, X, you've put me on the road of "bitter, jaded, and apathetic yaoi fangirl." You want to know why? I'll tell you why.
1. I am FUCKING SICK of your sniping. Yeah well, no shit. I'm not even on the Dreams of Sakura board, or Fandom Wankage (for obvious reasons) and I am sick and tired of you guys. Look, there are some people who like Seishirou/Subaru, there are some people who like Subaru/Kamui, and there some people who like FUBAR/SNAFU. All the little trench warfare between you pairing-obsessed subgroups creates is animosity, a stupid argument you've had 100 times before, and no one ever ends up changing anyone's mind at all. So STOP IT! And stop posting the arguments you have on your blog just because you want to show people how clever your quips are. If you were truly smart, you'll pull out of all this idiotic nonsense and try to think sensibly.
2. Stop attacking Kouri Arashi. I mean it. Look, I'm not a particularly large fan of Kouri either. We've met, we've chatted a bit at Anime Boston and Otakon, and that's about it. She's a nice girl, or so it appears to me. So you can stop calling her "bad for the fandom" and going all up in flames when she becomes the new writer for "Arcana." Her stories weren't particularly original, but hey, she was popular for a reason. She knows what you fans want. So all you little fangirls who think you have a brain should shut up about how she's going to "ruin Arcana." It's a WEBCOMIC for crying out loud, so stop screaming like someone's caught your balls in a beartrap. If you want to be as popular as Kouri, you put out some influential fanfiction of your own, bitch. Until you do that, you all can SHUT THE HELL UP.
3. A fanfiction review site is not the End of the World. Guess what? They are some pretty crappy fics out there. I would even go to say that about 99% of the fanfiction out there on the internet is complete elementary school (or worse) grade drivel. So if someone sticks your fic up there, guess what that means. IT SUCKS. And it probably sucks pretty bad too. So guess what you do then? You SUCK IT UP LIKE A MAN, take the critique, and you make yourself a better writer. If you're crying up there saying it's "unfair" or some other bullshit, well, guess what? Life isn't fair, and the only choice you've got is to WHINE about it on your messageboards, or DEAL with it like an adult. I suggest you take the latter route.
4. SHUT UP No, seriously. I am asking everyone in the fandom I am speaking of (CLAMP's X series) to STOP talking about anything X related for three days. It's the weekend. Stop, relax, go through your menstruation cycle, have a cup of tea, curl up with a good book or play some video games. And in the end, you'll come out a much less pissy and much happier person.
In the immortal words of Gollum at the MTV Movie Awards, "You're all bastards! X sucks! I hate you all!" >_<
So yeah, gonna be out this weekend. Dunno what the chances of internet access are looking like, since I possess no laptop and have a lot of to do in the evenings anyway. ^_^ Ciao, everyone, I'll see you all for my birthday dinner mob on Tuesday.
It's Thursday. I've had two days of classes, all four of my classes, and I am fucking hosed. >_< I am not kidding.
Not only do I have massive amounts of reading to do tonight, I have to watch two films and brush up on my Japanese. @_@ This weekend will be worse, since I have to get all of the reading for 9.70 done by Sunday night. And I"ll be at the MIT Japan retreat starting from...oh...Friday evening to Sunday evening. >_<
Yes, you know the semester has started at MIT because Skuld's bitching already. -_-;;
It's a wednesday, but goddamn does it feel shitty like a Monday does. Well, rather, there's just this one shitty thing making me unhappy.
So everyone knows I'm an Evanescence whore...and yeah...they're coming to Boston Feb. 29. And I've been waiting for them to come to Boston for like...almost a year. Well, guess what? Tickets are $100+. >_< OUCH! I mean, okay, I'll pay $50 for a concert, but $100? NO FUCKING WAY. Even if they're Evanescence. Normally, I'd choke up the money, but I have to have money left over for Japan and a plane ticket to Chicago to see/hang with Ed and Roni. ._. So no Evanescence for me despite how long I've waited. *sobs* Excuse me while I crawl into my bed and cry now.
Anyways, on a positive note, 9.09 is shaping up to be pretty interesting and my gay film class is going to be interesting. I have a lot of things to say in that class. I also get to write two essays, which no doubt will appear on my fanfiction/writings site.
I am also, once more running a panel for Anime Boston, with my lovely assistant Roni. ^_^ Topic is the emergence of canon yaoi/shounen-ai within shoujo and especially shounen genres, and comparing their portrayal of homosexuality to other forms of international media.
And now, a review of the short I watched in gay film today. ^_^
Trevor (1994), directed by Peggy Rajski, winner of the "Best Short Film" Oscar in 1994.
Cute little 20-ish minute short about a gay pre-teen and the angst and differences he has to deal with. Came out in the early 90's, so it's a little bit trite and feels a little like a public service message. But it's cute and funny, and the pitfalls it falls into are understandable.
guess that's it for tonight, folks. ^_^
First day of classes! ^_^ Of course, I've only had Japanese so far today, which didn't go so well, I think. Damn, you forget a lot of grammar over 6 weeks. @_@ Must practice more Japanese with the clone.
Have 9.09 today (should be interesting...I hope) and then 21F.016, my gay film class. (Technically it's "Male Same Sex Desire in International Film...but I'll call it my gay film class. :P)
Anyways, this semester is shaping to be interesting and work-filled, as usual. I might propose a theory that homework is like a gas, and no matter how much or how little you have, it still manages to fill up all the time you've got. ^_^ I'm sure several people will agree with this.
Any rate, here's an ANNOUCEMENT!
My 21st birthday is Feb. 10, which is next Tuesday. I plan to grab a big group of people to head down to the Sunset Grill and Tap in Allston around 6:30 or 7pm-ish. ^_^ All my friends and acquaintances are invited to chill out with me, drink beer and cocktails if you're of legal age, and generally have a good time.
If you have no idea how to get there, meet Skuld at her house before we head over there. Please tell me if you're coming so I roughly know whether or not we're going to fit through the door as a mob. ^_^
My long and fruitless search has finally ended.
I HAVE SOL PANTS!
Finally found them at Hootenanny at Harvard Square today. Someone carries tight, 5-pocket/jeans style white vinyl pants. Sol loves me after all. ;_; *so happy* They fit great too, and I'm actually proud of my DDR-trained legs. They were supposed to be going for $60 >_< but I realized that some red vinyl had previously bled on these white ones, so there were little pink marks on it (very faint, not really visible unless you know where to look or were looking for them) and they gave it to me for $40. Sweet. $40 vinyl pants = good, $60 vinyl pants = too expensive.
I've also got volume 5 of Fake (must finish reading it), and some more stuff for the costume. ^_^ I think I've had a pretty good day.
The ninja party on Saturday was awesome. We cracked some bad ninja jokes, Mark showed up as an emergency T-shirt ninja, Avatrix showed up as Zabuza, Ali-chan as Naruto, and there were good times all around, especially when we broke out "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Secret of the Ooze." ^_^ Nothing says "damn fucking good night" like "Ninja, ninja RAP! Ninja, ninja RAP!" (Go ninja go ninja go! Go ninja go ninja go.) Vanilla Ice was surely the pinnacle of high culture in the early 90's. ^_~
Pictures of the party will be forthcoming.
And so....today marks yet another song down on Skuld's list of:
Songs to beat by Anime Boston list
1. So Deep
2. A (oni)
3. Waka Laka
4. Cartoon Heroes
5. Sakura
6. Exotic Ethnic
7. Stoic
8. Orion .78 Civilization Mix
9. V (oni)
10. The Least 100 Seconds
I beat Stoic the day after I beat Cartoon Heroes and Exotic Ethnic today. Now I just have 4 songs left, and I've almost knocked off V (oni). I suspect that Sakura and OrionCiv will be the last two. -_-;; *sighs*
Had a two hour anime club meeting today, in addition to whatever I had to do for Reg Day. Our semester series are as follows: R.O.D. TV, the first arc of Juuni Kokki, Kimi ga Nozomu Eien, and Sumeba Miyako no Cosmos-sou Suttoko Taisen Dokkoida. @_@ Yeah, that's a mouthful I know. I wanted Mahou Tsukai ni Taitetsu na Koto, Licensed by Royal, and Jungle wa Itsumo Hale Nochi Guu to be shown...but no luck there. -_-;;
I'm way behind on shows I want to watch. Just watched the first episodes of Gungrave and Chrno Crusade both of which I have to say are pretty good. I should also be watching Full Metal Alchemist, Maria-sama ga Miteiru, and Shingetsutan Tsukihime.
Oh, and here's my random thought of the day (relating to Naruto 202): >_> I was thinking I that I really wanted to Seki Toshihiko to pull out his Legato-voice for Kimimaro, because it would fit so perfectly...and then belatedly I realized that he's already cast as Iruka-sensei. GODDAMMIT! >_< Nooooo~
;_; I want Seki Toshihiko to do Kimimaro. *sobs* Even though Iruka-sensei is pretty cool because he's got in to Kakashi's pants.
>_> Class starts tomorrow, but I don't have class on Tuesdays, so I get an extra day off. Should head off to lab, but since I have no work to show for my efforts, might as well take the day off and catch upon anime. ^_^;; Huzzah for randomly not having class on Tuesdays!
Dammit, I overslept, but I had a pretty kick ass dream. ^_^ It's a mix of bombs, friends, and Mystery Hunt puzzles. Rock.
So it starts out and I'm in a restaurant with my family, discussing my girlfriend. Apparently there's a really fundamentalist Christian religious sect in the table next to me, but I don't notice as I keep on blabbing about the girlfriend. Of course this sect of Christianity is a little off its rocker, so they overhear that I'm a lesbian and decide to something about me.
Later, I'm at home (in Salt Lake City) in my room, talking on the phone with my girlfriend, and all of a sudden I hear the sound of a large truck pulling into our driveway. "Oh shit," I say, as I see a couple of mean-looking guys jump out of it and start knocking on the door.
"Oh fuck," I say to the girlfriend, as I'm still on the phone with her, "Intruders." I hang up, grab the two daggers in my desk, and head downstairs to ward the guys off from my mother just as they open the door. I manage to get Mom to the back of the house before the bomb the lunatic-Christian-people planted explodes. This one just blows out the living room, so it's a pretty small one.
The police come, and I head around the corner to my frined Mike Sokolsky's house. We decide the neighborhood's no longer safe, so we take my family and move them out to an MIT Living Group (much similar to Fenway House, and populated by loads of MIT kids I know) which happens to be just a mile or two away. To lure out the fundamentalist Christian sect, my mother and I continue living in our old house. I know they're after me, and I want to lure them out so the police can get them.
Sure as hell, the next night I'm up in my room and I spot them coming again, this time trying to sneak into the house and plant it with bombs. I turn the all the lights on and scare them away, but not before they get the main bomb into my basement. I see them run, and give chase, jumping and flipping over fences kung-fu style.
The leader turns out to be a little old lady, so I catch up to her, and give her a good punch in the face. By this time half the neighborhood has gathered around my house, and Mike Sokolsky and a lot of my MIT friends appear on the scene. We're surrounded by members of the fundamentalist sect, telling that my friends and I have three hours to defuse the bomb, which has a multitude of wires. Turns out if I prove my intelligence, I'll win and they'll let me live being the lesbian I am. If I don't win, my house blows up.
I want to beat the crap outta them, but I decide to save the house. I gather a crew of my most able-minded Mystery Hunt-ish friends, (Lewis and C.Scott included) we take the puzzles they give us, go into my basement and start solving puzzles that will somehow tell us how to defuse the bomb. These are, of course, easy puzzles compared to the usual Mystery Hunt variety, and my friends and I are split into three groups all working somewhere in the house.
I'm in the middle of solving when I wake up, and realize it's 2pm. >_< *sighs* Goddammit. Wanted to see whether or not I won. -_-;; And whether or not I got to beat up those bastards afterwards. ^_^
This is the most amusing dream I've had in a while. ^_~
