I took a three-hour nap right after school today. That in itself isn’t very unusual (I usually average three to four nowadays). However, for the first time in memory, my nap exceeded the length of time I spent sleeping last night… which was two hours.

Nap > sleepy time = not good.

We had an annoying English assignment where we had to develop a character in a two-page piece of fiction. My friends, like the n00bs that they deny they are, spent the entire day asking one another in a tone of atrocious presumption, “So what did you write about in your short story?” And then waited for a response like someone waiting for a butler to serve them breakfast. Which was infinitely irritating. So I rejoined with varying hedges, alternating between the likes of “A hamster that ate a mutation-inducing marshmallow” and “A magical watermelon which endows the bearer with powers of flight.” My story really isn’t so horrible as to warrant concealment, but to tell the truth, there are a small number of little “problems” I keep finding in the manuscript… like factual inaccuracies, clichéd descriptions, oversimplistic characterizations. I almost want to cover my draft with little snide comments. Like, in the masterfully produced sci-fi action film Ultraviolet (this is relevant… just wait and see), the protagonist lives in a country controlled by a totalitarian government, and in the beginning when she’s infiltrating some government facility, she addresses some guy (whose ass she later kicks) as “Comrade Doctor.” Even though, as I privately ruminated later, the government is not communist. So when writing that piece of dreamlike shit, I tried to emulate a different, otherworldly setting by having everyone address each other as “Comrade.” But the location was based on stuff I’ve seen in our suburban town in our oh-so-capitalistic nation, so I’m not so sure whether my depiction was valid…

This is the first post I’ve written since my WordPress 2.5 upgrade, by the way. I really like what they did with the admin interface.

Musical update: We now bid adieu to the aristocratic Versailles and welcome a lesser-known indie band, a visual kei anomaly consisting entirely of females. Say hello to exist†trace and their most recent mini-album, Annunciation -the heretic elegy- (accessible through the “Currently Playing” link above).

Unfortunately, there aren’t many high-resolution promotional photos of exist†trace, and the group shot I obtained for this rotation is unpleasantly grainy… although I did my best to touch it up with despeckle filters.

Prelude to this post: “Snatches of completeness that even I envy.”

Well, I finished reading Koi Kaze. Although it did not end in tragedy after all, it was still a bittersweet kind of conclusion.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT. Plot elements are discussed in great detail here, so do not proceed if you haven’t already finished the manga.

Continue reading »

Koshiro, a professional wedding consultant, has recently been dumped by his girlfriend when he crosses paths with a cute high school girl. Though inappropriate due to their age difference (he’s 27, she’s 15), he winds up on what passes for a date with her, where he ultimately displays more of his feelings than he had intended. The awkwardness of the situation is heightened tenfold when the two discover that she, Nanoka, is the little sister that Koshiro hasn’t seen in more than a decade — and she’s moving in with him and his divorced father in order to attend high school! Never a man comfortable with his emotions, Koshiro must struggle to sort out feelings that just won’t go away even in light of their status as siblings. And how does Nanoka feel about Koshiro? Could it be that she, too, has feelings for him as well, feelings that transcend their familial status, even despite Koshiro’s moody nature?

But that really isn’t it. No basic plot synopsis could do this story justice. And so far, it’s much more heart-wrenching than I could have ever expected.

WARNING: SPOILER ALERT. Plot elements are discussed in some detail here, but the ending is not revealed. Proceed with caution.

Continue reading »

Excerpt from official Versailles site:

A Noble was Born in Chaos
アーティスト名： Versailles

1. Aristocrat’s Symphony
2. SUZERAIN
3. zombie

3 songs / 1,575 yen (tax included)
※各公演お一人様一枚のみ購入可能

2008年3月19日 SHIBUYA-AXより発売開始

I hunted around the Web for more news, and according to one site, this single is “exclusively sold at [Versailles’] 3/19 Shibuya AX event.”

Does that mean it won’t be available in stores???

Also, a new rock omnibus, CROSS GATE 2008 -chaotic sorrow-, will be released on the 26th of March. The only reason millions of fans are salivating over this release is because it happens to contain a new, hitherto unreleased song by Versailles called “SFORZANDO,” a beautiful and outstanding example of the symphonic/neo-classical metal genre. (Some zealous fan uploaded the song to YouTube, where it’s available for your listening pleasure.)

Music annoys me sometimes, but I don’t think Versailles ever will.

Other news: I added a streaming music player to this blog, accessible through the “Currently Playing” link in the horizontal navigation menu above. As of this writing, my playlist features the aristocratic stylings of Versailles — their 2007 mini-album, Lyrical Sympathy.

The state primaries of Ohio, Texas, Vermont, and Rhode Island yesterday has brought Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton a surprising turnaround — among her victories… Ohio, Texas, and Rhode Island!

Election results here and here.

Samples from the comments left on Clinton’s blog:

YIPPEE!!!!!!!!!! HILLARY WON OHIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh happy day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GO HILLARY GO!!!!!!

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HILLARY WINS OH

HILLARY HILLARY HILLARY HILLARY HILLARY HILLARY
F O R P R E S I D E T

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YES WE DID!

HILLARY = SUPERWOMAN

MY PRESIDENT — OUR PRESIDENT —– YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!

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Hillary’s speech was brilliant. I love that she reminded everyone of Ohio’s historical significance. No one has lost the OH primary and won the Whitehouse. I am so excited and inspired right now, and the confetti and deafening cheers were so exciting! I am alone at home, and I was cheering along with the crowd (my neighbors might think I am crazy lol). Thank you OH and RI, and I am optimistic about TX!

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This…..

IS THE HAPPINEST DAY OF MY LIFE!

HILLARY I LOVE YOU AND I AM GLAD YOU DID NOT ANYONE KNOCK YOU DOWN!!

Ahem… that was a very selective offering, since the vast majority contained exclamations of “Praise the Lord!” and “God bless America!” and that kind of nonsense…

At any rate… very reinvigorating night for the Clinton campaign. Hopefully, the rest of America will realize that experience does matter…

[Edit] HAHAHAHAHAHAHA—!!! [/Edit]