Yeah, so much for updating more frequently eh? Well, I suppose this is a bit sooner than the once a month routine I was in before.  Anywho, life goes on as to be expected with me goofing off an' not really getting anything done.  Getting classes at school was an utter failure with both my earlier procrastination and the state budget cuts working against me... not to mention my dire lack of motivation.  It seems like the only thing that gets my spirits up these days is watching a good anime or playing a nostalgic video game -- and even then I can feel my attention span wavering and I do not like it.  However, I'm at a loss as to the solution here.  I realize that it's as simple as trying... but things are looking dismal and my "try" has all but run out, as little as there was in the first place.  I could complain about my situation all night and it would do nothing to help so I'll just leave my rant here and pick up on it at a later date I suppose. lol

Moving on to anime news, there's so much to report on.  Let me start with what's fresh in my mind -- I went to see Evangelion 1.0 up in San Francisco on Friday, the first showing of opening day.  Now I know a lot of you out there cringe at the thought of anime dubs, but I must say that this one surpassed my expectation.  It's not often that I think  that an anime dub feels fluid when translated into English because sometimes either emotion or meaning (sometimes both) is lost in the process, but the dub of the new Eva movie left me with the same feeling as when I watched it for the first time in Japanese.  It was quite astonishing to get that feeling and I'm not sure if it's simply because I'm such a hardcore Eva fan but I am saying loud and proud that the English version of this movie is excellent.  Of course, if you want me to be a stickler I could pick at the fact that they took quite a few liberties in the translation and actually added some lines and inferred specific meanings in places where it was originally intensionally vague then so be it, but I am inclined to defend those changes because, since we're talking about a dub here, it made it flow so much more naturally in English.  Also, it's nice to see Spike Spencer reprising his role as Shinji in this version and doing a much much much better job as compared to the original TV series =)

Next up, even though I'm a few weeks late here, I wanted to mention that ADV films has shut down.  While this is shocking news to some, I must say that I've seen it coming ever since they made a less-than-solid business deal with an overseas company which could've cared less about ADV's overall wellbeing.  And though the company many American Otaku have come to know and love no longer exists in name, many of the original staff have transferred over to Section 23 which has neatly picked up all of the productions held by ADV with very little in terms of loss there.  It seems to me like this move was more of a severe restructuring of the company under a new name and without any sticky hands of outside parties in the cookie jar this time.  I wish them the best of luck and look forward to seeing what the old guys under new names have in store for us! 

Well, that will be all for this update.  Till next time folks, PEACE~!

Last weekend I went to see Ponyo.  I caught the first showing on opening day because I figured there wouldn't be much of a crowd at the midnight showing.  Of course, as with any Ghibli film these days, there was a good sized group of children there spouting off comments and questions from time to time -- though, it was certainly not enough to be aggravating.  As for the movie... well, I am inclined to give it all top marks but there were a few points at which I found it difficult to completely empathize with the characters.  This could be due to the dubs being only so-so at times or because I was running on little sleep.  But in any case, I did enjoy every minute of the film as a fantastical adventure.

Also over the weekend I went down the grand opening of Anime V which recently moved from Berkeley down to San Jose, making it much more convenient for me to visit should I get the urge.  The Evangelion theme that they've set up in the store is very cool and I was half-jokingly asking how much they wanted for the podiums with the NERV logo on them or for the pieces on the wall that were made to look like the large screens from NERV Central... if they were for sale I probably would've attempted to buy them... but that would've certainly ended short of fruition due to my lack of money at the moment lol. 

Lastly, some future speculation.  This coming week brings the beginning of a new school semester.  However, I have yet to sign up for classes for various reasons.  I dunno... things have just lost their sheen lately, ya know?... Anyway, back on topic!  I'm going to be doing a considerable amount of running around in a panic trying to scrounge up enough classes to take this semester.  And I am definitely NOT looking forward to the stress and frustration that this will cause.  Furthermore, should I fail to do so there will be other strong repercussions that I wish to avoid... so as a backup plan I am considering reapplying to Foothill and taking a training program that will get me straight into a job and then returning to SJSU after a while.  Let's just hope it all goes as planned (hah! like life will be content to let that happen lol).

Well, I'll try to update more often now - it's part of a sort of resolution I've made with myself recently.  So until next time (which will be soon!), PEACE~!

PS: next time I do a full review of Ponyo. =)

Yeah, that's right, you can watch the first 12 episodes of Haruhi on YouTube, posted and subtitled courtesy of Kadokawa.  This posting comes synchronous with the re-airing of Haruhi Suzumiya on Japanese TV.  But get this folks, there are NEW EPISODES mixed into this re-airing.  One of them is even available on YouTube -- the title is "The Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody" and it is considered episode #8 in the re-air order.  This may not be news to people who have been following the series as it airs but for those who expected from the annoncement that Haruhi would be back on TV that Kyo-Ani was up to something this will certainly be a reaffermation of faith. lol This has been the scoop straight from the mouth of your friendly neighborhood Otaku!  Till next time, PEACE~!

It's hard to say whether we should focus on his life as a singer or the controversy of his later years, but in any case the world has lost a figurehead of the '80s.  There are going to be some disappointed fans who were looking forward to his comeback concerts as well.  He's moonwalking on the clouds now.  RIP Michael Jackson.

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How does one find the motivation to wake up in the morning and subject oneself to endless monotony and absurd situations – only in the promise of a subsistent life? What if one wants more than a "comfortable life" in this world? The possibilities are unlimited in terms of where to go and what to do, but in all, the situation remains the same. The sum of human experience can be reduced to the electrical charges jumping between tiny nodules of a biological circuit board.  When one looks at daily life with this in mind it brings about a maelstrom of conflictions.  All of the world’s preoccupation with status and money are moot points when it comes to satisfying anything more than the most basic needs, and even then they feel unnecessarily superficial.  People told to run through the maze with the promise of who-knows-what on the other end seems more like an amusement in some galactic carnival than a way of life.  Someday we’ll find a way to live more contented live – I can only hope.

Everybody else is doing it, why not jump on the bandwagon? lol That'd be fine and all, if I actually had a significant other. I'm not sure whether it's my extreme otakuness or just my tendency to be really thick when it comes to romantic ventures but it is seeming like an impossible task for me to even ask a girl out.  There are a few I have in mind when the topic comes up, but the thought is always shot down by the threat of the friendship becoming rather awkward if I make a fool of myself by asking -- but then, if I don't ask then I'll never have a chance... I've even resorted to wearing the shirt that reads, "Looking for a Japanese girlfriend," XD (something tells me that that was a doomed venture to begin with anyway).  Am I a hopeless case?  Perhaps I'm just really sleep deprived right now... curse you school and your life-devouring homework! ^^; Well, 'till next time, PEACE~!

See, what did I tell ya?  I forgot all about my follow-up blog entry last time.  Nothing much to report since last time though.  'Cept that my room is finally getting halfway decent from all the cleaning that has come about from me procrastinating my homework.  I haven't done but aproximately one-third of the required readings for my classes -- just can't seem to find the motivation.  Perhaps I should consider changing my major.  Well, all that funky stuff aside, I added some new amusing pictures to my photo blog.  Check them out!  Now I need to try to get back to work and at least get my Japanese homework done.  Till next time, PEACE~!

I've been rather lazy as of late when it comes to updating my blog here... I'll try to get something on here later this evening... but I assume that it will come down to one of several common circumstances:  1) I end up playing games all day and forget, 2) I end up watching anime all day and forget, or 3) I end up doing homework all day and forget.  Of course, we all know that the third one is quite impossible lol.  Of course, I have a lot to say but I just have trouble saying it... ok, enough about me.  I'll post about something other than me when I get back.  Laterz!

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