March 7th, 2009
February 24th, 2009
1. How do you feel right now? 
2. What's your favorite pastime?
3. Do you consider yourself a strange person?
4. What's your favorite fandom?
5. OTP?
6. How do you describe yourself?
7. How do others describe you?
8. What's your favorite icon to use that's not default?
9. Do you have an icon of your future husband/wife?
10. Do you have a LOLWHUT icon?
2. What's your favorite pastime?
3. Do you consider yourself a strange person?
4. What's your favorite fandom?
5. OTP?
6. How do you describe yourself?
7. How do others describe you?
8. What's your favorite icon to use that's not default?
9. Do you have an icon of your future husband/wife?
10. Do you have a LOLWHUT icon?
I am a lizard child of the sun.
The co-op was playing "The Sign Of Fire" today. It brought me back to a time in my life, three to four years ago, when I was getting into The Fixx. I was reading Grant Morrison comics, spiritual and quasi-spiritual books like The Spiral Dance, The Holographic Universe and The Outsider, learning my way around mushrooms, working a dumb temp job in Century City, walking around L.A. and making small magical discoveries, and listening to this music. All contributed to a certain mind set; not a cerebral one, but keenly observing and feeling. It was good to remember that.
This semester is going pretty well. A little tired, a little sore from PE classes I'm not used to, but it feels good to work with my body, and to have courses that engage the mind again. I've got enough to keep me busy with four academic classes, weight training and pool, language lab and student body activities. I hope to participate in International Women's Day next month, running a table and talking a little bit about what men can do for feminism (moral and political support, child care, flexibility in gender roles and the division of labor). Other than that, hung out with lucentai from LJ again, which gave me a chance to expose him to Shinbo anime; was gifted with a new mattress, which my back is thankful for (and which makes my bed 29'' high -- bow to me, plebians!); watched beer-sensei's videos for Nihongo inspiration; and watched some Sketchbook, which was cute. And now I am listening to Ozric Tentacles, which is my centering music. (lights some patchouli and meditates on a crystal) :P
This semester is going pretty well. A little tired, a little sore from PE classes I'm not used to, but it feels good to work with my body, and to have courses that engage the mind again. I've got enough to keep me busy with four academic classes, weight training and pool, language lab and student body activities. I hope to participate in International Women's Day next month, running a table and talking a little bit about what men can do for feminism (moral and political support, child care, flexibility in gender roles and the division of labor). Other than that, hung out with lucentai from LJ again, which gave me a chance to expose him to Shinbo anime; was gifted with a new mattress, which my back is thankful for (and which makes my bed 29'' high -- bow to me, plebians!); watched beer-sensei's videos for Nihongo inspiration; and watched some Sketchbook, which was cute. And now I am listening to Ozric Tentacles, which is my centering music. (lights some patchouli and meditates on a crystal) :P
February 23rd, 2009
Finals
Biopsych - June 11
Japanese - June 15?
Gym - June 15
Phil 3 - June 15
Ethics - June 16
February 22nd, 2009
February 2nd, 2009
Yes, I'm Still Talking
See, the thing about Manabi. It doesn't take the "oh noes, end of the world" approach. We're told that Japan's population has shrunk dramatically, due to low birth rates, and because of this the adults tend to have a serious-minded, "so much is riding on you" attitude towards the high schoolers. But everyone's pretty relaxed most of the time, what tensions exist are easily melted away, and the one quasi-antagonist gets the message that change isn't to be feared, but celebrated. That these kids deserve a future that's bright and happy, even if the character of that future isn't what we're accustomed to. It sounds simplistic, and it probably is. But it's so, so nice to see flying scooters and holographic screens and vanishing spraypaint and not have Something Horrible Happen Because Our Way Of Life Is Unsustainable And Technology Has No Soul And We Clearly Deserve It, Anyway. :p I'm tired of being made to feel dirty because I live in this century. I wasn't born to feel dirty, but to go Straight Ahead. And come up smiling like the freaky mutant I am. OK enough.
Oh yeah, and Manabi is TOTALLY Paul Atreides as a Japanese schoolgirl.
FATHER! THE LOLI HAS AWAKENED!
FATHER! THE LOLI HAS AWAKENED!
mashimaro-coated brick
Manabi Straight is the anti-dystopia. It's full of optimism, futurism and intersubjectivity.
The character designs took some getting used to... high schoolers don't need to be that super-deformed, and I was going to write the show off as just another "cute girls doing cute things cutely" knockoff, with throwaway bits of science fiction. I'd seen so many schoolgirl shows in the last 2 1/2 years, since Azumanga Daioh got me back into anime fandom and Pani Poni Dash! kept me there, that I jumped to conclusions about Manabi. It just looked so synthetic and cutesy.
But. An eloquent, slightly unhinged aniblogger talked up this show as the one to cause him an emotional breakdown, and from that I knew I had to watch it. I could relate... there was the whole Haibane thing, and I once sunk myself into Texhnolyze as a way to avoid talking to people, and came out quite the worse for wear. Have you seen Texhnolyze? NEVER use it for escapism. It's the Japanese equivalent of a Cormac McCarthy novel. Nothing survives except a goddamn FLOWER.
But I digress. The point is, certain shows at certain times. And Manabi? It hurt, in a good way. And it warmed my heart. One of the morals I gleaned, that we deserve a future that isn't just a retread of the past, helped me write a debate essay that I had been procrastinating on. While I was out of bed, writing said essay at a horrible hour (I didn't sleep, lol) a decent sized spider crawled around on my sheets. After I finished writing, I noticed the critter, caught it in my wooden box o' liberation and took it outside. The point is, Manabi Straight saved me from a spider bite. Or something. If you can handle sweet shows, you should watch this.
The character designs took some getting used to... high schoolers don't need to be that super-deformed, and I was going to write the show off as just another "cute girls doing cute things cutely" knockoff, with throwaway bits of science fiction. I'd seen so many schoolgirl shows in the last 2 1/2 years, since Azumanga Daioh got me back into anime fandom and Pani Poni Dash! kept me there, that I jumped to conclusions about Manabi. It just looked so synthetic and cutesy.
But. An eloquent, slightly unhinged aniblogger talked up this show as the one to cause him an emotional breakdown, and from that I knew I had to watch it. I could relate... there was the whole Haibane thing, and I once sunk myself into Texhnolyze as a way to avoid talking to people, and came out quite the worse for wear. Have you seen Texhnolyze? NEVER use it for escapism. It's the Japanese equivalent of a Cormac McCarthy novel. Nothing survives except a goddamn FLOWER.
But I digress. The point is, certain shows at certain times. And Manabi? It hurt, in a good way. And it warmed my heart. One of the morals I gleaned, that we deserve a future that isn't just a retread of the past, helped me write a debate essay that I had been procrastinating on. While I was out of bed, writing said essay at a horrible hour (I didn't sleep, lol) a decent sized spider crawled around on my sheets. After I finished writing, I noticed the critter, caught it in my wooden box o' liberation and took it outside. The point is, Manabi Straight saved me from a spider bite. Or something. If you can handle sweet shows, you should watch this.
January 31st, 2009
My Political Views
I am a left social libertarian
Left: 5.11, Libertarian: 4.5
Political Spectrum Quiz
My Foreign Policy Views
Score: -8.88
Political Spectrum Quiz
No surprise there. I detest colonialism and I think what the US is engaging in is colonialism.
My Culture War Stance
Score: -8.55
Political Spectrum Quiz
The expression "culture war" is retarded. I don't agree with most people in this culture, but I certainly don't see myself as fighting a war with them. Talk about one side setting the terms of the debate.
I am a left social libertarian
Left: 5.11, Libertarian: 4.5
Political Spectrum Quiz
My Foreign Policy Views
Score: -8.88
Political Spectrum Quiz
No surprise there. I detest colonialism and I think what the US is engaging in is colonialism.
My Culture War Stance
Score: -8.55
Political Spectrum Quiz
The expression "culture war" is retarded. I don't agree with most people in this culture, but I certainly don't see myself as fighting a war with them. Talk about one side setting the terms of the debate.
January 29th, 2009
I never understood why we need to have taxes.
Don't misunderstand me, I'm not a complete anarcho-capitalist. From a libertarian standpoint, there are very good reasons for government spending: you have certain freedoms in a public place -- right of speech, right of assembly -- that can be rescinded if the land is privately owned. So if Wal-Mart owns the streets, public parks ect. (I'm giving an extreme example) you can kiss those constitutional freedoms goodbye.
Whether or not the income tax is a good idea is another matter. Personally, I'd like to see matters of public spending put up to a popular vote... then the government would requisition part of its minted bills, whatever amount people agreed upon, and spend that directly instead of sending it out and asking for it back at a later date. I'd rather make 30,000 a year and have another 10,000 spent on public works I voted for, than make 40,000 and send 1/4 of it back to be used on god knows what.
AFAIK, the idea of tax came from pre-market cultures, when royalty couldn't produce the goods they needed by themselves so they took part of the peasant's goods in tribute. I don't see how it fills a purpose now that the ones in charge /are/ the producers.
Don't misunderstand me, I'm not a complete anarcho-capitalist. From a libertarian standpoint, there are very good reasons for government spending: you have certain freedoms in a public place -- right of speech, right of assembly -- that can be rescinded if the land is privately owned. So if Wal-Mart owns the streets, public parks ect. (I'm giving an extreme example) you can kiss those constitutional freedoms goodbye.
Whether or not the income tax is a good idea is another matter. Personally, I'd like to see matters of public spending put up to a popular vote... then the government would requisition part of its minted bills, whatever amount people agreed upon, and spend that directly instead of sending it out and asking for it back at a later date. I'd rather make 30,000 a year and have another 10,000 spent on public works I voted for, than make 40,000 and send 1/4 of it back to be used on god knows what.
AFAIK, the idea of tax came from pre-market cultures, when royalty couldn't produce the goods they needed by themselves so they took part of the peasant's goods in tribute. I don't see how it fills a purpose now that the ones in charge /are/ the producers.
January 28th, 2009
This. I'm not a primitive, by a long shot, but I agree with every single one of the critiques made here.
January 26th, 2009
ADHD post
Spotted today: "Jesus Made Me Kosher" shirt. Oh, Jews For Jesus, you are a very special organization.
Also spotted today: a store called Unique Medical Supplies. Which just makes me think of medical fetish. Or a Cronenberg flick.
Turkish dance music!. It's not "psytrance" as billed, but cool nonetheless.
Does anyone know where I can download instructions for a TI-83 calculator? Statistics and I... didn't get along, for a number of reasons (fifty questions a week OW and applied math OW and theory OW) and the threadbare booklet that came with my calc didn't exactly help matters.
I'm taking Finite Mathematics for six weeks in the summer... it's all that stands between me and completion of my IGETC, and IT SHALL FALL. IF I AM WRONG, I WILL EAT A JESUS SHIRT.
Feeling better about my diet of anime now... Toradora is going from formula tsundere romcom to something quite unpredictable and engaging, while at the same time, House is getting more terrible and contrived by the minute. Was I the only one who thought of "Overdrawn At The Memory Bank"'s brain/mustard scene during tonight's episode?
Manabi Straight is not without its good points, but the ED is nightmare fuel. 1:16-1:21 *shudders*
Also spotted today: a store called Unique Medical Supplies. Which just makes me think of medical fetish. Or a Cronenberg flick.
Turkish dance music!. It's not "psytrance" as billed, but cool nonetheless.
Does anyone know where I can download instructions for a TI-83 calculator? Statistics and I... didn't get along, for a number of reasons (fifty questions a week OW and applied math OW and theory OW) and the threadbare booklet that came with my calc didn't exactly help matters.
I'm taking Finite Mathematics for six weeks in the summer... it's all that stands between me and completion of my IGETC, and IT SHALL FALL. IF I AM WRONG, I WILL EAT A JESUS SHIRT.
Feeling better about my diet of anime now... Toradora is going from formula tsundere romcom to something quite unpredictable and engaging, while at the same time, House is getting more terrible and contrived by the minute. Was I the only one who thought of "Overdrawn At The Memory Bank"'s brain/mustard scene during tonight's episode?
Manabi Straight is not without its good points, but the ED is nightmare fuel. 1:16-1:21 *shudders*
January 20th, 2009
For all the talk of moving forward, what I primarily see in Obama is a happy reversal of some of the things that made me spitting mad about the last eight years. Less flagrant illegality, less contempt for science, less emphasis on compelling gestation or bashing GLBTs, less making light of death and war.
We didn't beat the level, but someone inserted another quarter. It's a start.
We didn't beat the level, but someone inserted another quarter. It's a start.
"Most people walk through life in an introspective haze, and as a result they hardly notice anything at all"
From an off-canon Sherlock Holmes novel. Fourteen years later, I don't remember the name of the book but I remember that line.
I want to be a little more awake than I have been, lately.
From an off-canon Sherlock Holmes novel. Fourteen years later, I don't remember the name of the book but I remember that line.
I want to be a little more awake than I have been, lately.
January 12th, 2009
bakemonoism.
Figured out a way to juggle the most-wanted courses with the unit cap in place, so yay for that. Of course that'll change too as the schedules change. But I'm confident that I can take what will most help me before UCLA. Now the trick is have some confidence in my future.
I made it through the first two assignments of Phil 1, two more and a final essay before the term is over. I'm glad there isn't a lot of busywork for that class. Stats test tomorrow and my homework is due for that class, so I pretty much have to go crazy today to finish, but Dad is working with me so I'll make it in time. The pace is daunting; at the beginning our teacher warned us three or four times to take this course in the sixteen week session. n.n I have a Phil exam on Thursday but I'm not nearly as worried about that one.
Ironically, as it shifts to my weather of preference in LA (it's 80 degrees F right now) the Santa Anas are also giving me allergic reactions. My nose ran like a faucet yesterday. Felt dizzy last night; I slept for about 4 hours, and my subconscious vented a lot of poison. One dream was about taking care of a man addicted to setting himself on fire; I finally lost it and screamed at the top of my lungs at him. I know it has to do with the crazies where I live. It hurts to walk past ranting people, and I don't like Westwood for that reason. Also really sick of overcrowded buses going down Pico... Santa Monica, you know how many people attend your college, there's no excuse.
Green kale with mung beans is, again, really really good.
I need to talk about the deep stuff sometime. Hopefully by next weekend.
I made it through the first two assignments of Phil 1, two more and a final essay before the term is over. I'm glad there isn't a lot of busywork for that class. Stats test tomorrow and my homework is due for that class, so I pretty much have to go crazy today to finish, but Dad is working with me so I'll make it in time. The pace is daunting; at the beginning our teacher warned us three or four times to take this course in the sixteen week session. n.n I have a Phil exam on Thursday but I'm not nearly as worried about that one.
Ironically, as it shifts to my weather of preference in LA (it's 80 degrees F right now) the Santa Anas are also giving me allergic reactions. My nose ran like a faucet yesterday. Felt dizzy last night; I slept for about 4 hours, and my subconscious vented a lot of poison. One dream was about taking care of a man addicted to setting himself on fire; I finally lost it and screamed at the top of my lungs at him. I know it has to do with the crazies where I live. It hurts to walk past ranting people, and I don't like Westwood for that reason. Also really sick of overcrowded buses going down Pico... Santa Monica, you know how many people attend your college, there's no excuse.
Green kale with mung beans is, again, really really good.
I need to talk about the deep stuff sometime. Hopefully by next weekend.
December 6th, 2008
Let The Right One In far surpassed my expectations. It's probably my favorite new film of 2008, occupying the same "blow your brains out" echelon that Inland Empire and Four Months, Three Weeks And Two Days did back in 07.
The director, Tomas Alfredson, used all the standard conventions of vampire lore, but at the same time he juggled more thematic elements and emotional hues than I'd thought possible; blending horror, dark comedy, Scandinavian realism and coming of age drama into one rich smoothie of a film. There was a slow burning intensity to it that was Bergmanesque, but with less angst and more humor, urban grittiness and GORE. And the ending was perfect, drawing it all together. I'll be contemplating this one for a long time... and to think, I only saw it because there was no way in Chaos that I was going to Twilight. :P
The director, Tomas Alfredson, used all the standard conventions of vampire lore, but at the same time he juggled more thematic elements and emotional hues than I'd thought possible; blending horror, dark comedy, Scandinavian realism and coming of age drama into one rich smoothie of a film. There was a slow burning intensity to it that was Bergmanesque, but with less angst and more humor, urban grittiness and GORE. And the ending was perfect, drawing it all together. I'll be contemplating this one for a long time... and to think, I only saw it because there was no way in Chaos that I was going to Twilight. :P
November 28th, 2008
little girls love snacks as the main dish
Tonight, there is Thanksgiving pumpkin pie in the refridgerator, so I crept into the kitchen and raided...
...sprouted mung beans, half of a grapefruit, two bananas and a cup of tea. Wow. I guess I am an adult, after all.
Hacking away at a book on FTMs, which is a whopping 675 pages. Thought I'd look at what others were saying about it, then get back to my reading. Craziness.
Tomorrow night, I am seeing this.
...sprouted mung beans, half of a grapefruit, two bananas and a cup of tea. Wow. I guess I am an adult, after all.
Hacking away at a book on FTMs, which is a whopping 675 pages. Thought I'd look at what others were saying about it, then get back to my reading. Craziness.
Tomorrow night, I am seeing this.
November 26th, 2008
counting colored chicks
Even though I'm not actually applying for another year, I downloaded the UCLA general catalog. Here's a short (!) list of classes I might be taking.
( mostly for my interest )
( mostly for my interest )
After thinking about it, I'm going to make ![[info]](http://www.inksome.com/img/userinfo.gif)
salamandream my primary LJ. On IS, I should be posting as walkabout exclusively. That way I can add content for those two different audiences.
I love IS so, but it needs a broader freak population. I've never had so few of my interests filled in. :P
salamandream my primary LJ. On IS, I should be posting as walkabout exclusively. That way I can add content for those two different audiences.I love IS so, but it needs a broader freak population. I've never had so few of my interests filled in. :P
November 18th, 2008
November 17th, 2008
a la carte
Finish last 2 homeworks - Pol Sci, Thursday & Friday
Field trip to Getty - Myth, Saturday
Huntington Gardens - Sunday
3rd midterm exam - Myth, Wednesday
Write up 3 trans books - Pol Sci, Thursday-?
Take home final - Pol Sci, 6th-13th
Final - Myth, 10th
So yeah, as you can tell from my... light schedule, I boned this semester. Well, it makes a good story when I apply to UCLA and describe how english literature sent me into despair.
Winter session starts Jan. 5th and lasts for five weeks; I really want to finish early so I can start reading my philosophy textbook and practicing math by December 11. Spring semester starts a few days after Winter's... and zomg my parents have books on symbolic logic. I will either vanquish my fears or school will reduce me to a gibbering puddle. Have you ever seen a puddle gibber? It's not pretty.
I will have fun at school! Because everyonethat I want to avoid is there, and that makes it fun.
I don't want to set the hills on fiiiire...
Field trip to Getty - Myth, Saturday
Huntington Gardens - Sunday
3rd midterm exam - Myth, Wednesday
Write up 3 trans books - Pol Sci, Thursday-?
Take home final - Pol Sci, 6th-13th
Final - Myth, 10th
So yeah, as you can tell from my... light schedule, I boned this semester. Well, it makes a good story when I apply to UCLA and describe how english literature sent me into despair.
Winter session starts Jan. 5th and lasts for five weeks; I really want to finish early so I can start reading my philosophy textbook and practicing math by December 11. Spring semester starts a few days after Winter's... and zomg my parents have books on symbolic logic. I will either vanquish my fears or school will reduce me to a gibbering puddle. Have you ever seen a puddle gibber? It's not pretty.
I will have fun at school! Because everyone
I don't want to set the hills on fiiiire...
Mom sent this email to the LA Times, in response to the "Dead Man Waiting" article.
The father in the article sounds like he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder; he is caught in a feedback loop of constantly reliving the trauma. There was a program on "60 Minutes" describing the administration of beta blockers that would allow trauma victims to reset their thinking process to its prior functional state. The beta blockers did not wipe out the memory of the trauma, but stopped the victim from physically reliving the experience. Please see if you can offer the father some help in investigating this treatment.
It's a good point, I have to look into it some more. I did feel that dangling a carrot of justice in front of an obsessed man was cruel, though I can't really forgive his actions or what he politically advocates. Anyway, that's my last post about it; I just wanted to bring up another side.
The father in the article sounds like he is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder; he is caught in a feedback loop of constantly reliving the trauma. There was a program on "60 Minutes" describing the administration of beta blockers that would allow trauma victims to reset their thinking process to its prior functional state. The beta blockers did not wipe out the memory of the trauma, but stopped the victim from physically reliving the experience. Please see if you can offer the father some help in investigating this treatment.
It's a good point, I have to look into it some more. I did feel that dangling a carrot of justice in front of an obsessed man was cruel, though I can't really forgive his actions or what he politically advocates. Anyway, that's my last post about it; I just wanted to bring up another side.
November 5th, 2008
Love lies bleeding
...And it's over. The elections were simultaneously better and worse than I expected, and for every bullet that we dodged, we caught two more.
The good: the narrow defeat of Prop. 4, a sound thrashing of 6, 600,000+ votes for Nader/Gonzalez and the Peace And Freedom Party, and feeling a little -- just a little -- more enfranchised in this godforsaken country after Obama's win. The bad: no on 5 and yes on 9, a hideous combination that will only swell our already-bloated prison system (by the way, now is the time to look into prison abolition), and the passage of state sponsored bigotry in 8.
No, we didn't defend all our rights; if this election has taught me anything, it's the importance of not being put on the defensive in the first place. Next game, our serve, our court.
The good: the narrow defeat of Prop. 4, a sound thrashing of 6, 600,000+ votes for Nader/Gonzalez and the Peace And Freedom Party, and feeling a little -- just a little -- more enfranchised in this godforsaken country after Obama's win. The bad: no on 5 and yes on 9, a hideous combination that will only swell our already-bloated prison system (by the way, now is the time to look into prison abolition), and the passage of state sponsored bigotry in 8.
No, we didn't defend all our rights; if this election has taught me anything, it's the importance of not being put on the defensive in the first place. Next game, our serve, our court.
October 30th, 2008
Pics courtesy of Leigh from feminist alliance. Hopefully this is OK to repost; I know FB wasn't showing up for people who weren't logged in.
( Read more... )
( Read more... )
witness the carnage of Club Row
That was fast!
Joint tabling by the Feminist and Gender/Sexuality clubs; I think we imparted strong messages, even if we had quite a lot of them. :>
And that purple thing was meant to be a vagina, but when we finished it looked more like a suggestive plum. Oh well.
Joint tabling by the Feminist and Gender/Sexuality clubs; I think we imparted strong messages, even if we had quite a lot of them. :>
And that purple thing was meant to be a vagina, but when we finished it looked more like a suggestive plum. Oh well.
"I don't want to live in a genderless society, where women pay for themselves and carry heavy objects"
Oh, Corsair. You are special.
Back from Club Row! A little heatstruck, which is to be expected, but the reception was friendly and I think Santa Monica College is a strongly "No On 8" campus by now (and 4, and 6? hopehopehope).
In fact, why am I stopping there? Let's just run through the propositions, since there are an awful lot of sucky ones this year.
( I know nothing )
Oh, Corsair. You are special.
Back from Club Row! A little heatstruck, which is to be expected, but the reception was friendly and I think Santa Monica College is a strongly "No On 8" campus by now (and 4, and 6? hopehopehope).
In fact, why am I stopping there? Let's just run through the propositions, since there are an awful lot of sucky ones this year.
( I know nothing )
October 29th, 2008
I got an 89% on my poli sci midterm. That's not bad for a timed test with no sleep. Also I have my bibliography 7/10 done, all on transgender reading. I suck at doing annotations but I'll probably post them after I'm finished.
Doing club row tomorrow, there may be some pics of me all camo'd up. Don't Ask, Don't Tell is our theme, I don't know how much good it will do but in a field of red, white and blue some statement has to be made.
Tabling for the Peace And Freedom party on Monday, sympathetic resonance much appreciated.
Doing club row tomorrow, there may be some pics of me all camo'd up. Don't Ask, Don't Tell is our theme, I don't know how much good it will do but in a field of red, white and blue some statement has to be made.
Tabling for the Peace And Freedom party on Monday, sympathetic resonance much appreciated.
October 23rd, 2008
Huh, the Sci-Fi cut of Videodrome is a bit better than the theatrical version! I love the ambiguous ending; I know it's just reused stills and voiceover but it seriously creeps me out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otRBpNgO
Speaking of, Halloween's coming and I haven't seen a good, classy horror film in awhile. Any suggestions? To give you an idea, I detest jump scares, dig on foreign flicks, thought Miike's "Audition" was great and the last Argento was garbage, and I'm not squeamish about gore.
Also, is transmodernism as dumb as most of its writing suggests?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otRBpNgO
Speaking of, Halloween's coming and I haven't seen a good, classy horror film in awhile. Any suggestions? To give you an idea, I detest jump scares, dig on foreign flicks, thought Miike's "Audition" was great and the last Argento was garbage, and I'm not squeamish about gore.
Also, is transmodernism as dumb as most of its writing suggests?
For kuroitenshi, animes completed:
Air
Alien Nine
Azumanga Daioh
Battle Angel
Birdy The Mighty
Cyber City Oedo 808 (I barely even remember this, but it was awesome)
Fantastic Children
Gankutsuou
Golden Boy
Gunbuster
Gunsmith Cats
Haibane Renmei
Hare + Guu
Hidamari Sketch
Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni
Ichigo Mashimaro
Iria: Zeiram The Animation
Kamichu
Kashimashi
Key: The Metal Idol
Kino's Journey
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Oniisama-e
Ouran High School Host Club
Pani Poni Dash!
Paranoia Agent
Pet Shop Of Horrors
Please Save My Earth
Reign: The Conqueror
Revolutionary Girl Utena
Saber Marionette J
Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
Serial Experiments Lain
Texhnolyze
The Hakkenden
The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya
3x3 Eyes
X
kuroitenshi, animes completed:Air
Alien Nine
Azumanga Daioh
Battle Angel
Birdy The Mighty
Cyber City Oedo 808 (I barely even remember this, but it was awesome)
Fantastic Children
Gankutsuou
Golden Boy
Gunbuster
Gunsmith Cats
Haibane Renmei
Hare + Guu
Hidamari Sketch
Higurashi No Naku Koro Ni
Ichigo Mashimaro
Iria: Zeiram The Animation
Kamichu
Kashimashi
Key: The Metal Idol
Kino's Journey
Neon Genesis Evangelion
Oniisama-e
Ouran High School Host Club
Pani Poni Dash!
Paranoia Agent
Pet Shop Of Horrors
Please Save My Earth
Reign: The Conqueror
Revolutionary Girl Utena
Saber Marionette J
Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei
Serial Experiments Lain
Texhnolyze
The Hakkenden
The Melancholy Of Haruhi Suzumiya
3x3 Eyes
X
October 18th, 2008
Alright! Since I started from scratch here, I’ll put down a little about myself and this journal.
I was born in 1980. In 1989, I had the mentality of someone born in 1980. Today, I have the mentality of someone born in 1989. I’m in my second year of community college at Santa Monica. I want to go to UCLA and earn my bachelor’s in philosophy.
Gender: male, but I mostly identify with 2D girls.
Politics: anarcho-eudaimonic. Lefter than left, pretty much, although I don’t buy a lot of Marx and Lenin’s ideas (dictatorship of the proletariat? no thank you). But a guaranteed living wage, universal health care, and basically being excellent to each other, hell yeah.
I hold two deities, Cosmos and Chaos. Cosmos is impersonal, genderless, and represents the tendency toward spontaneous organization that exists in the universe. Chaos is a dark female figure. She’s who you call when you want something destroyed. They don't perfectly balance each other, but they are complementary forces.
I love travelling, it’s when my soul is most awake. Seeing England and Scotland with my parents last year was one of my all-time greatest experiences, and I’m returning someday when I have the money to go by myself. I want to try living abroad, as well; after college, I plan on spending a year teaching English in Korea.
I love electronic music, especially old school psy/goa. The psytrance scene is where I attended my earliest parties; it left a deep impression on me and affected how I view the world, and I don’t just mean the drugs. :P Partying outdoors and connecting with nature, redecorating an urban space to stimulate the senses in new and provocative ways, learning alternate modes of living from fellow freaks, and travelling into private mental spaces through music and dancing.
A old friend of mine used to run a psy record shop in the Valley, tucked just off of Sherman Way in between a barbershop and a sports bar. Inside this humblest of settings was a wonderland of pulsating music, science fiction influenced wall paintings and tribal/fluoro decor. That was a beautiful time for me, and I really hope that the idea of the record store as a place to hang out returns to our culture.
As the bit about 2D girls probably told you, I’m an animation fan. After some unfortunate forum posts in 2007, Japanese anime held some bad associations for me, so I didn’t watch it much for a while. I watch more now, but I’m discriminating. Of what I’ve seen lately, Mushishi was virtuous in every way, Gankutsuou and Fantastic Children were highly entertaining, and Hidamari Sketch had some funny/visually striking moments (and Miya-sama).
I may have a personality disorder.
I want to be a big sister type.
Subjects I’ve taken: anthropology, biology, urban geography, psychology, astronomy, library, mythology, english, film, korean, and political science. Most-liked: biology (except for dissection) and cultural anthro.
I think more people should be aware of power dynamics and how groups outside their own are affected by them.
I think Ozric Tentacles are -- were, anyway -- the perfect band. I’ve followed all of their work, most of Eat Static, the Nodens Ictus album, and I want to get my hands on some ZubZub. Seeing ZubZub in Brixton left blisters on my feet. Within the prog realm, Porcupine Tree are almost as good as Ozrics, even if Fear Of A Blank Planet didn’t do it for me.
(file under: “bands that will never be in Guitar Hero”)
Narrative, and especially visual narrative, is a big part of my life, but narrative conventions don’t hold much interest for me. I don’t come out of a movie saying “wow, that really was a well crafted plot structure!”. Give me dream logic, not the writer’s manual. Inland Empire is my favorite movie.
Finally, it’s unrelated to this bio, but I have to say it: Ralph Nader kicked butt all over the place on CSPAN tonight. It’s been awesome to see the bailout getting it from across the political spectrum... people are starting to ask the right questions about our money, how we spend it and where. See http://www.independentpoliticalreport.c
I was born in 1980. In 1989, I had the mentality of someone born in 1980. Today, I have the mentality of someone born in 1989. I’m in my second year of community college at Santa Monica. I want to go to UCLA and earn my bachelor’s in philosophy.
Gender: male, but I mostly identify with 2D girls.
Politics: anarcho-eudaimonic. Lefter than left, pretty much, although I don’t buy a lot of Marx and Lenin’s ideas (dictatorship of the proletariat? no thank you). But a guaranteed living wage, universal health care, and basically being excellent to each other, hell yeah.
I hold two deities, Cosmos and Chaos. Cosmos is impersonal, genderless, and represents the tendency toward spontaneous organization that exists in the universe. Chaos is a dark female figure. She’s who you call when you want something destroyed. They don't perfectly balance each other, but they are complementary forces.
I love travelling, it’s when my soul is most awake. Seeing England and Scotland with my parents last year was one of my all-time greatest experiences, and I’m returning someday when I have the money to go by myself. I want to try living abroad, as well; after college, I plan on spending a year teaching English in Korea.
I love electronic music, especially old school psy/goa. The psytrance scene is where I attended my earliest parties; it left a deep impression on me and affected how I view the world, and I don’t just mean the drugs. :P Partying outdoors and connecting with nature, redecorating an urban space to stimulate the senses in new and provocative ways, learning alternate modes of living from fellow freaks, and travelling into private mental spaces through music and dancing.
A old friend of mine used to run a psy record shop in the Valley, tucked just off of Sherman Way in between a barbershop and a sports bar. Inside this humblest of settings was a wonderland of pulsating music, science fiction influenced wall paintings and tribal/fluoro decor. That was a beautiful time for me, and I really hope that the idea of the record store as a place to hang out returns to our culture.
As the bit about 2D girls probably told you, I’m an animation fan. After some unfortunate forum posts in 2007, Japanese anime held some bad associations for me, so I didn’t watch it much for a while. I watch more now, but I’m discriminating. Of what I’ve seen lately, Mushishi was virtuous in every way, Gankutsuou and Fantastic Children were highly entertaining, and Hidamari Sketch had some funny/visually striking moments (and Miya-sama).
I may have a personality disorder.
I want to be a big sister type.
Subjects I’ve taken: anthropology, biology, urban geography, psychology, astronomy, library, mythology, english, film, korean, and political science. Most-liked: biology (except for dissection) and cultural anthro.
I think more people should be aware of power dynamics and how groups outside their own are affected by them.
I think Ozric Tentacles are -- were, anyway -- the perfect band. I’ve followed all of their work, most of Eat Static, the Nodens Ictus album, and I want to get my hands on some ZubZub. Seeing ZubZub in Brixton left blisters on my feet. Within the prog realm, Porcupine Tree are almost as good as Ozrics, even if Fear Of A Blank Planet didn’t do it for me.
(file under: “bands that will never be in Guitar Hero”)
Narrative, and especially visual narrative, is a big part of my life, but narrative conventions don’t hold much interest for me. I don’t come out of a movie saying “wow, that really was a well crafted plot structure!”. Give me dream logic, not the writer’s manual. Inland Empire is my favorite movie.
Finally, it’s unrelated to this bio, but I have to say it: Ralph Nader kicked butt all over the place on CSPAN tonight. It’s been awesome to see the bailout getting it from across the political spectrum... people are starting to ask the right questions about our money, how we spend it and where. See http://www.independentpoliticalreport.c
October 16th, 2008
One of the most dangerous ideas to come out of the right wing in this country is "there's no welfare in a beehive".
I reject the idea that my worth is only relative to my usefulness to somebody else, and that makes me both a strong individualist and a strong advocate of the welfare state. Quite frankly, the world does owe me a living; it owes you a living, too. Culture was designed to work for people, not the other way around.
I reject the idea that my worth is only relative to my usefulness to somebody else, and that makes me both a strong individualist and a strong advocate of the welfare state. Quite frankly, the world does owe me a living; it owes you a living, too. Culture was designed to work for people, not the other way around.
October 9th, 2008
SMC today
House music in front of the library, a successful No On Props. 4/6/8 spread by the student walk, and Sara showing me around backstage in the theatre arts building. Yeah, I think the next two years are gonna work out alright.
October 8th, 2008
new maps of hell
Meh. I've decided not to transfer as an English major, after all. Spending three years on the hermeneutics of Shakespeare, Chaucer and Milton is not something I see myself doing.
Instead, I've decided to switch to a Philosophy major. That way, I can study something just as useless, and harder at that!
If I have a particular strength, it's in the conceptual-theoretical area, and Philosophy seems to be a good match. Also, while I'm not very interested in the development of the modern English language, or the anthropological significance of Beowulf, I am interested in logic, classical skepticism, existentialism, Eastern religions, postmodernism and the Continental school... very much so. My first class will be in the winter, and we'll see how that goes.
Planned courses @ SMC:
Winter 08: Statistics, Introduction To Philosophy
Spring 09: Early Philosophers, Ethics, Physiological Psychology, Elementary Japanese
Summer 09: Symbolic Logic
Fall 09: Modern Philosophers, Art Appreciation, Botany, Political Philosophy
Winter 09: Asian Philosophy
Spring 10: Field Botany, Chemistry, Physics
Instead, I've decided to switch to a Philosophy major. That way, I can study something just as useless, and harder at that!
If I have a particular strength, it's in the conceptual-theoretical area, and Philosophy seems to be a good match. Also, while I'm not very interested in the development of the modern English language, or the anthropological significance of Beowulf, I am interested in logic, classical skepticism, existentialism, Eastern religions, postmodernism and the Continental school... very much so. My first class will be in the winter, and we'll see how that goes.
Planned courses @ SMC:
Winter 08: Statistics, Introduction To Philosophy
Spring 09: Early Philosophers, Ethics, Physiological Psychology, Elementary Japanese
Summer 09: Symbolic Logic
Fall 09: Modern Philosophers, Art Appreciation, Botany, Political Philosophy
Winter 09: Asian Philosophy
Spring 10: Field Botany, Chemistry, Physics
October 3rd, 2008
September 30th, 2008
September 19th, 2008
New toys
http://blog.laptopmag.com/asus-eee-pc-9
I'm getting one of these on Monday, a subnotebook with 6 hour battery. Should make note-taking a lot easier.
http://www.plasticlogic.com/
Dad showed me this video. If it can do everything they say it does...
I'm getting one of these on Monday, a subnotebook with 6 hour battery. Should make note-taking a lot easier.
http://www.plasticlogic.com/
Dad showed me this video. If it can do everything they say it does...
September 3rd, 2008
Never attribute to malice or stupidity that which can be explained by difference.
August 26th, 2008
August 20th, 2008
Manga review of the Whenever-I-Feel-Like-It: Golden Boy
When I started this post, about Tatsuya Egawa's Golden Boy, my first line was "Wow. Where do I even begin?"
Maybe it's best to start with the first volume, as it's still relatively normal by that point. What Egawa does there, basically, is play against an established type. He uses the tension between two diametrically opposed themes - on the one hand, the adolescent male wish-fulfillment of ecchi manga, on the other, Japan's tradition of "pure-hearted wanderer" stories (think ronin here, or the Tora-san films) - to make an intelligent comedy that, depending on your point of view, either dodges or completely gives in to the excesses of both genres. Its protagonist, college dropout and temp worker Kintaro Oe, may be a lech, but he's a thoughtful lech, more interested in sociological observation than bedding nubile young females (admittedly, it's a close race). I couldn't help but be endeared by his constant scribbling in his notebook, or his catch phrase of "learned something new!". The Taoist nonchalance with which Oe greets the vagaries of fate is refreshing, and you want to admire him for it... then he nuzzles a toilet seat. It's a good shtick and one that could've carried a multi-volume series (Golden Boy has ten) reasonably well.
However, this is a Tatsuya Egawa manga, and the mind of Tatsuya Egawa is infinitely more cracked out. What started as a typical "sweet poor guy vs. confident rich guy" story arc in the second volume begins to claw at its own subtext by the third, and we get collective-consciousness cults, sex scenes with VR helmets and neurolinguistic programming, musings about the origin of religion, warfare and the nation-state, Man's responsibility to the environment, personality psychology... basically every philosophical theme Egawa (a former schoolteacher) had stewing in his brain up to that point is thrown in, along with nearly every conceivable kink. Whatever you think about his ideas, the utterballsiness errr, fearlessness of their execution is gripping.
(Damn, by my count that's the third masturbation double entendre that's snuck into this review)
A lot of Golden Boy's musings ring true, like the simple, but elusive insight that to do great evil humans must consider themselves virtuous. Or the value of knowledge over material goods, knowledge that can only be acquired through experience... what makes Egawa so subversive, particularly in Japan, is his insistence that school should be a place to learn, not a place to "succeed". The most outrageous thing about Oe is not his out-of-control hormones, or his fetishes, but his intelligence: he dropped out despite completing all of his classes. He sees his life contracting into getting a degree and getting a job for life, and rejects that in order to keep learning.
(note to self: find pretentious way to tie GB in to Marcuse's One-Dimensional Man)
GB's feminist cred is slight... this is ecchi, you're not going to be able to get away totally from the male gaze. During a cross-dressing arc where Oe falls under the spell of a teen shoplifter (the bit about the heirarchy of panties is the funniest, sickest thing I've read in ages) and impersonates her at school so she can play hooky, he does take baby steps toward seeing women as something other than fascinating alien creatures. GB is full of strong, intelligent women; unfortunately, it tends to portray them as dragon ladies, needing to be "tamed" by the protagonist. Women do turn the tables frequently, though, and provide Oe with more than a match.
It's a shame that in this country, Golden Boy is only known as a goofball OAV... the manga has so much more to offer, both in terms of depth of writing and uninhibited raunch. I'm guessing that the reason why it was never brought over here is precedent... while it might have to undergo slight changes in translation (e.g., upping the 16 year olds to 18), more daunting is the lack of an established market for manga THIS adult. It would basically have to be shelved with the Crumb comics. Still, with Egawa frequently cited as one of the most influential manga-ka, we can hope that this and other titles (Be Free!) will one day grace the domestic shelves, as is gradually starting to happen with Kazuo Umezu's work.
Porn can be intelligent. Learned something new!
(Note: at this time, only four volumes of GB are scanlated, and I'm basing my judgment off those four. For those looking for a Western source and are able to read German, the entire series was translated and released in Germany)
Maybe it's best to start with the first volume, as it's still relatively normal by that point. What Egawa does there, basically, is play against an established type. He uses the tension between two diametrically opposed themes - on the one hand, the adolescent male wish-fulfillment of ecchi manga, on the other, Japan's tradition of "pure-hearted wanderer" stories (think ronin here, or the Tora-san films) - to make an intelligent comedy that, depending on your point of view, either dodges or completely gives in to the excesses of both genres. Its protagonist, college dropout and temp worker Kintaro Oe, may be a lech, but he's a thoughtful lech, more interested in sociological observation than bedding nubile young females (admittedly, it's a close race). I couldn't help but be endeared by his constant scribbling in his notebook, or his catch phrase of "learned something new!". The Taoist nonchalance with which Oe greets the vagaries of fate is refreshing, and you want to admire him for it... then he nuzzles a toilet seat. It's a good shtick and one that could've carried a multi-volume series (Golden Boy has ten) reasonably well.
However, this is a Tatsuya Egawa manga, and the mind of Tatsuya Egawa is infinitely more cracked out. What started as a typical "sweet poor guy vs. confident rich guy" story arc in the second volume begins to claw at its own subtext by the third, and we get collective-consciousness cults, sex scenes with VR helmets and neurolinguistic programming, musings about the origin of religion, warfare and the nation-state, Man's responsibility to the environment, personality psychology... basically every philosophical theme Egawa (a former schoolteacher) had stewing in his brain up to that point is thrown in, along with nearly every conceivable kink. Whatever you think about his ideas, the utter
(Damn, by my count that's the third masturbation double entendre that's snuck into this review)
A lot of Golden Boy's musings ring true, like the simple, but elusive insight that to do great evil humans must consider themselves virtuous. Or the value of knowledge over material goods, knowledge that can only be acquired through experience... what makes Egawa so subversive, particularly in Japan, is his insistence that school should be a place to learn, not a place to "succeed". The most outrageous thing about Oe is not his out-of-control hormones, or his fetishes, but his intelligence: he dropped out despite completing all of his classes. He sees his life contracting into getting a degree and getting a job for life, and rejects that in order to keep learning.
(note to self: find pretentious way to tie GB in to Marcuse's One-Dimensional Man)
GB's feminist cred is slight... this is ecchi, you're not going to be able to get away totally from the male gaze. During a cross-dressing arc where Oe falls under the spell of a teen shoplifter (the bit about the heirarchy of panties is the funniest, sickest thing I've read in ages) and impersonates her at school so she can play hooky, he does take baby steps toward seeing women as something other than fascinating alien creatures. GB is full of strong, intelligent women; unfortunately, it tends to portray them as dragon ladies, needing to be "tamed" by the protagonist. Women do turn the tables frequently, though, and provide Oe with more than a match.
It's a shame that in this country, Golden Boy is only known as a goofball OAV... the manga has so much more to offer, both in terms of depth of writing and uninhibited raunch. I'm guessing that the reason why it was never brought over here is precedent... while it might have to undergo slight changes in translation (e.g., upping the 16 year olds to 18), more daunting is the lack of an established market for manga THIS adult. It would basically have to be shelved with the Crumb comics. Still, with Egawa frequently cited as one of the most influential manga-ka, we can hope that this and other titles (Be Free!) will one day grace the domestic shelves, as is gradually starting to happen with Kazuo Umezu's work.
Porn can be intelligent. Learned something new!
(Note: at this time, only four volumes of GB are scanlated, and I'm basing my judgment off those four. For those looking for a Western source and are able to read German, the entire series was translated and released in Germany)
August 15th, 2008
power tool
The Vitamix 4500 is a beast of a blender. If I had one complaint, it would be a lack of subtlety: by the time a drink is ready, it's hot, simply from the friction of the blades. But oh, that power. Never mind frozen fruit, I can throw in four oz. of nuts, close the lid, flip the switch, and the result makes me want to quote Oppenheimer. I have become Shiva, destroyer of almonds.
August 13th, 2008
I dreamt about a new Strider game, in 3D with a third person overhead perspective. Level one was a modern downtown (couldn't place it geographically, but looked USian) at night, with an impressive amount of vertical depth and random people milling around. The problem was, Hiryu/I couldn't tell who were enemies at first, which led to my killing: 2 construction workers, one lady with a stroller, and one punk rock (looked like Nana) girl that flipped us the bird. Hiryu grumbled that he should have stayed in retirement. Later it changed to live action, the making of a movie. He needed to scale a tall building with his arm hook, the same way as in the video game, and after looking all the way up to the top, said that they would have to CG it. :-P A lot of stuff after that was just random angst but looking back, it was rather amusing.
Best line from the dream:
"I kid, I kid."
"You don't sound like you're kidding."
"Of course not, that's just something you say to be polite."
Best line from the dream:
"I kid, I kid."
"You don't sound like you're kidding."
"Of course not, that's just something you say to be polite."
August 12th, 2008
Today rocked heavily. Lunch and a planetarium show at the Griffith Observatory, dinner in Silver Lake, and amazing weather all day. Enough to kick me out of self-pity. I may even move into that neighborhood in the future, it's bohemian and affordable.
I'm following two shows right now, Fantastic Children and Mushishi. Still love Mushi; it reminds me of reading the Arabian Nights as a child, except that the stories are better. Only two eps into FC, but it has a similar feeling to A Tree Of Palme... slow story, richly detailed backgrounds and lots of melodrama. It's up my alley, at least.
I'm following two shows right now, Fantastic Children and Mushishi. Still love Mushi; it reminds me of reading the Arabian Nights as a child, except that the stories are better. Only two eps into FC, but it has a similar feeling to A Tree Of Palme... slow story, richly detailed backgrounds and lots of melodrama. It's up my alley, at least.
August 11th, 2008
Western Civilization: it would be a good idea.
I am so, so angry at Russia right now.
August 9th, 2008
Finished Gankutsuou. Pretty sweet series and they didn't overdo the mecha aspect for once. I expected a few more twists, but those last eight episodes were mostly all action. Still, it moved at a nice fast clip and I got my Beppo-service. *g* I need to get cultured and read the original Dumas book sometime; hell, I loved "The Stars My Destination" and the plot of that book is much the same.
I wish we had seen more aliens, as Maeda seems to have a flair for them; the (human) main character designs were kind of flat and blah, with not a lot of expression. Clothing, vehicles and backdrops carried the real visual "wow"; the art style went for maximum contrast between the 2D and 3D elements, something I've started to enjoy lately despite its potential to take one out of the story. It's something Akiyuki Shinbo does in a lot of his anime, albeit in a more cut-up, collage style (as an aside, Hidamari Sketch is the PERFECT show for him). Anyway, I want to see more from this director. After Animatrix and this, color me impressed.
Now I'm watching Mushishi, and it's everything I love about anime. Elliptical storytelling, a dreamy atmosphere, and decidedly non-Western themes and mythos. I'm going to savor this one.
I wish we had seen more aliens, as Maeda seems to have a flair for them; the (human) main character designs were kind of flat and blah, with not a lot of expression. Clothing, vehicles and backdrops carried the real visual "wow"; the art style went for maximum contrast between the 2D and 3D elements, something I've started to enjoy lately despite its potential to take one out of the story. It's something Akiyuki Shinbo does in a lot of his anime, albeit in a more cut-up, collage style (as an aside, Hidamari Sketch is the PERFECT show for him). Anyway, I want to see more from this director. After Animatrix and this, color me impressed.
Now I'm watching Mushishi, and it's everything I love about anime. Elliptical storytelling, a dreamy atmosphere, and decidedly non-Western themes and mythos. I'm going to savor this one.
August 7th, 2008
Retook my assessment test today, and FINALLY placed into college algebra. It's been a long time coming, 1 1/4 years. But I won't have to take remedial classes to graduate, thank God. I'm one statistics course away from never having to worry about math again.
(yes, I know this is not how it works in the real world, but humor me)
And with that out of the way, I have some rather interesting classes lined up. English Lit, Mythology, Politics And Race, and Marine Biology. All beloved subjects of mine. 3 are night classes, with 1 early in the morning, so we'll see how that goes. But I have student club meetings during the day to keep my morale up. And the inter-club council meeting twice a month. This could honestly be the best semester I've had.
Other goals of mine are to catch up on my reading (I have nearly 100 unread books, no lie), develop some command of Korean, and post/comment here once in a while.
Over the longer-term, graduate, take a series of TESOL courses, take a shot at Korea, save up some money and find a nice house to share in LA. Independence will be mine... someday ^^;
(yes, I know this is not how it works in the real world, but humor me)
And with that out of the way, I have some rather interesting classes lined up. English Lit, Mythology, Politics And Race, and Marine Biology. All beloved subjects of mine. 3 are night classes, with 1 early in the morning, so we'll see how that goes. But I have student club meetings during the day to keep my morale up. And the inter-club council meeting twice a month. This could honestly be the best semester I've had.
Other goals of mine are to catch up on my reading (I have nearly 100 unread books, no lie), develop some command of Korean, and post/comment here once in a while.
Over the longer-term, graduate, take a series of TESOL courses, take a shot at Korea, save up some money and find a nice house to share in LA. Independence will be mine... someday ^^;
June 23rd, 2008
School is crazy fast. I have so much reading to do, I can only just keep up right now, and hopefully get ahead over the weekend. I scored 20/20 on the first English test, though I didn't do as well today in Poli Sci... maybe 80%. For Wednesday (yes, there is another quiz on Wednesday) focus + prepare...