Ugh, what a week.

I'm tired. Really tired. Not that kind of tired where you have been working too hard or not gotten enough sleep, as neither of those can accurately label my situation. Just that tired-all-the-time kind of tired. I mentioned last time that I had a sore throat. I didn't really think much of it and thought that it'd just go away, but it's been lingering. So I have next to no energy which has caused me to keep putting off posting here.

I bought a few new DVDs this week and have an interesting story to tell. Kill Bill Vol. 1 was prime amongst the new purchases, and I don't have much to say about it since everyone knows by now that it's a great movie. Though I have to say that I'm slightly surprised with how popular it is since so much of what makes it great is derived from other movie genres that most average movie-watchers don't know and/or care about. Like the whole Shaw Bros. reference at the very beginning. One in a million people are going to get that.

I also bought the new release of classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles episodes from 1987. You know how sometimes when you think the things in your childhood were so great, and then you got back and see them again and actually see how stupid they are? Well that.... did not happen here! Those episodes still hold up well today. I loved them. I still remember, very clearly, watching these episodes the first time back in the day, and it's just a total blast to see them again.

The final purchase was the 2 disk version of Blade II. A new, cheaper single disk edition was released recently, and the 2 disk version has been getting tougher to find, so when I found a few copies at the local Best Buy, I thought it best to finally snap one up. Here's where it gets weird. I noticed when I got home and opened it how it was wrapped in shrinkwrap, not the usual plastic film, though it still had a security sticker on the side. When I took a look inside, the first disk had Chinese writing on it. The hell? It was a bootleg. I bought a Chinese bootleg DVD inside a legitimate case from a real mass market retailer. What's even weirder is that the second disk was not a bootleg. I got it exchanged for a "real" one (also packaged in shrinkwrap, strangely), and the people I talked to there scratched their heads and had a few laughs. But still I have to wonder, what was the story behind how that bootleg got there in the first place? We'll probably never know.

And that's been about the extent of the excitement in my life.

Sayonara.

Super Loud Anime Sensei no Jutsu!

Went back to work teaching how to draw anime at Comic Book Masters for the spring session yesterday. The numbers are again not very high, which is surprising, but I'm off to a good start by the looks of things. It was a lot of fun. I do not have my minion Shawn to boss around this time, and the returning students seemed to miss his presence. While my wrist still gets tired from the stress I put on it, all in all it feels good to be getting back into the swing of things, and to be drawing in general.

What doesn't feel so good is the insane sore throat from the depths of Hell that I've come down with. It never fails. The vocal chords get quite the workout each time I teach, and after a month of not doing it, the sudden burst of exclaiming the virtues of drawing using basic shapes and whatnot takes its toll the next day. It makes the throat all dry and scratchy and goes straight up to the brain, so now I can barely even sit up. Which means that this weblog entry is over.

Sayonara.

Those who do evil...

I have just returned home from watching THE PUNISHER.

The short review is: It kicked ass.

Sayonara.

Rantings of an Anime Fan.

Activity on the message board has really picked up recently! My thanks to everyone who has been posting.

The new season of anime has started in Japan, and thanks to the advent of technology I've actually been able to see the new stuff pretty soon after they come out via download. That is pretty cool. However, I've got to admit that there isn't really a whole lot of good stuff out there right now. And I mean really, really good stuff, the kind that worth watching with each new episode. There were a few that I though were pretty good, and one or two that are mildly amusing, but nothing I've seen has really blown me away yet.

But that's not what I'm here to talk about. Even though there's all of this new anime coming out, with fansub groups scrambling to be the first out the gate, I've noticed recently that there has been more attention paid to older, classic anime titles. I've often thought (and ranted about) how the anime fandom in North America does not appreciate the classic anime series that defined the industry all those years ago. And, when you think about it, why should they? There's hardly been any attempt to expose shows like that over here! Now I'm very glad that the older stuff is not being ignored as it once seemed to be. I've recently seen shows like Devilman, Getter Robo, and God Mars, great shows that, despite their dated styles and lack of flash, still entertain nonetheless. I hope that this trend continues so that English-speaking anime fans can have the chance to see more of the important classic anime series that we never had the chance to see before.

As anime fans, the classic shows are our history. Shows from the 60's, 70's, and 80's are where so many of the conventions of anime started that influenced everything that has come since. And besides that, so much of the new junk out there just doesn't compare to the classics! So all you other anime fans out there, now you have no excuses. Give the old stuff a chance. You just might learn something.

Sayonara.

Spam of the Super Fun Japan Time!

Yep, that's right. Today in my e-mail I had the honor of receiving spam from Japan. I've gotten Korean, Russian, and Spanish spam, but only now have I gotten Japanese spam. Of course, it's in Japanese, so I can't read it. So let's just see what Altavista Bablefish has to say about it.

**************
Sale person net business representative Suzuki sand world address Kyoto city Saikyo Ku Shimotsu forest turn provision 100? 1 telephone 0774-55-7505 not yet acceptance announcement & this mail please transmit reception denial gomennasai79@yahoo.co.jp today they are age of information in the next mail address as a reception denial. Price is super low price with bulk sale! It does above current price 15 ten thousand Yen! Don't you try leaping large? If it becomes that air, the money has fallen to the foot!
**************

You know, you just hope and you hope that something like this is going to translate into something crazy, and in the end it just exceeds even your wildest expectations.

"Don't you try leaping large?" Well, I never really thought about it! What benefits does leaping large have?

"If it becomes that air, the money has fallen to the foot!" THE foot? As in, The Foot Clan? Oh no! The money! What will the Ninja Turtles do if it becomes that air!

Priceless. I hate spam so much, but as far as I'm concerned, Japanese spam like this gets a free pass. Please transmit reception denial? No way! Price is super low price! Bring it on!

Sayonara.

Ugh.

I've been pretty sick recently, so that's why I haven't really been around much. Sore throat, coughing, you know the drill. And my wrist has been pretty sore again too. But I'm starting to feel better now.

This recent thread on The Allspark regarding weblogs may just get some people to read this thing. So if you're coming here from there, then hey! What's up? Stick around for awhile, why don't ya? Hope you enjoy reading all my junk. Let me know what you thought.

And I guess that's all I have to say right now. How exciting.

Sayonara.

I am a Cyborg.

Early this week I had another appointment with my doctor regarding my wrist. His recommendation at this point was to get a brace. I picked one out the next day and have been wearing it pretty much ever since in order to get comfortable with it. It keeps my wrist straight and has a lot of padding to protect the area that hurts the most. Hopefully, once I get used to it, I'll be able to get back in the swing of things and start drawing again, or colouring at the very least. It's a bit cumbersome but we'll see how it works out. All in all it seems to be doing better after taking it easy for awhile.

Jackie Chan, my all time favorite movie star, has recently celebrated his 50th birthday. And Mobile Suit Gundam, one of the most influential animated programs in history, has just reached it's 25th anniversary.

Sayonara.

More New Toys. Hell Yeah.

Yeah, I bought even more new Transformers this week.

Finally, I now have the chaos bringer!



Thanks to a tip I read on The Allspark, I was able to buy myself a planet eating god of destruction for a paltry $30 Canadian. The price tags on the shelf said that it was over twice the price, but the store computers at Wal-Mart told a different tale. It's the black Energon version, not the orange Armada version (which I will probably buy later anyways), but now after wanting one for so long, I finally have Unicron, and he's a big, bad, monster of a robot. So if you're in Canada, check your local Wal-Mart because this excellent price is apparently in effect all over the country, though who knows for how long.



And just today, after searching all week, I got the brand new Transformers Universe Ramjet with four Minicons, exclusive to Toys R Us. And I bet I got it before it hit saturation in the US too, which is nice for a change. Some people complain that the Air Military Minicons are barely recoloured from their original release, but I don't really care since they're new to me. It's a great value for what you're getting.

I was hoping to finally get ahold of the 20th Anniversary Optimus Prime, since Wal-Mart has apparently got it for $50 Canadian now, which is a freakin' unbelievable price, but I wasn't able to find one there. It might seem like I'm spending a lot, but honestly I'm really behaving here. There's so much new stuff coming out and so much more released a while ago that I didn't get. I'm just picking up the few that I really like to keep pace with what's out there.

If I were screaming rich, of course, I'd buy them all. Hmm, Maybe some day.

Sayonara.

Ewww!

I adopted a cute lil' ninja fetus
from Fetusmart! Hooray fetus!

Disturbing, and yet fascinating. Perhaps this can provide clues into my secret origin?

I love April Fools Day.

Sayonara.