Monday, January 07, 2008

Disneyland Trip: A Short Summary

(I did not edit this blog entry before posting, so there's bound to be mistakes)

School is starting soon. Studies will take over my time. My manga will gather a bit of dust while I pick my bigger more imposing "World Religions" textbook. My figurines will be lonely. So what must one do at a time like this? Go to Disneyland!

Classes start tommorrow, so this was the perfect time to visit the Magic Kingdom. Plus, I was going with a very good friend of mine. We had a ton of fun! So much fun stuff happened today that it's very difficult to pick out highlights. It's probably best summed up in my video blog, which if you're interested is linked at the very bottom of this page. Describing a day like this in text is very difficult to do... but by god, I'll try!

First off, there was alot of injokes. ALOT! As if adding "-kun" to the end of every name wasn't strange enough, our discussions of 'crack pairings" probably weirded out more then one person waiting in line.

(for those of you not in the know, a 'crack pairing' is when you take two different characters, often times from different shows or movies, and make them a couple. For example: "Harry Potter and Arwen". Makes for great family discussions!)

Furthermore, what made this day even more awesome then it already is.. I got a Jack Skellington figurine! Actually, it isn't really Jack Skellington in the traditonal sense. It's Jack in his "Pumpkin King" form from the beginning of the movie. He looks like a scarecrow with a pumpkin for a head. It's very cool! *bows* Thanks Beck!

So if you're interested in hearing more about the trip, check out the video. Pure Kaleb blog goodness!


A Visit to 4chan

(WARNING: I did not edit this entry after typing, so there's bound to be errors)

I've learned alot in my days of being an anime geek, one of them being that not all anime geeks are alike. You have one anime geek who is actually a normal guy going about their day to day lives who just so happen to find Japanese animation fascinating, then you have the guys who are completey obsessed (and kinda scary, and finally you have the guys like me who are kind of inbetween the two. Don't get me wrong, I think I'm perfectly normal... but I do own more figurines then your average seventeen year old.

So in order to prove to myself that I'm a "real anime fan", I decided to visit a "real anime fans" forum. That's right.. I visited 4chan! *dumdumdum*

Despite the somewhat 'adult' nature of the site, I found my stay to be quite entertaining. The site is structured in a way that pretty much anyone can say anything to anyone. There are rules, but I'm begginning to wonder how strict the actual moderation is on the site. There's some sections where the moderation is completely nonexistent infact (it's usually marked with a red "18+" sign.. you never know what you can find on there). Describing the way the site works would be pointless, because I don't entirely understand it myself, and thus explaining it would just make me look a idiot. Or in 4chan speak "my blog=failed". LOL, I r so clever.

It is an anime forum for the most part, but there's plenty of sections on the site. Although.. the anime forum did kind of creep me out. Some of these guys are very strange, to say the very least. But that's all part of the fun of the site. It's a place where geeks and nerds can: "insult, bash, hate, flame, spam, and lol". What more can one desire! Maybe a girlfriend (although, these guys seem perfectly content with their cartoon girls).

It was a fun experience, and I actually found myself participating in some of the forum debates. I was bashed and flamed on a frequent basis, but I laughed everytime it happened. Plus, it was a huge confidence booster! For you see, I may be a geek, but not on the same level the guys on that forum are. I still have a strand of sanity left. Then again... totally insane anime geeks are alot more fun then regular people.

Sunday, January 06, 2008

The Windows of Your Body

(Warning: I did not proofread this. Mistakes ahead!)

I was thinking today.. and this is kind of a mind-boggling kind of thing. I was thinking about the brain. Lets take into consideration that everyone in the world basically has this super computer in their skull. It can process tons of process, it can store alot more information then iPod can, and it's able to absorb the enviornment around you. It's the conductor of your body. Yet it doesn't always seem to work.

Lets delve into this a little further. Truly, it's human motivation that makes the brain work at its greatest potential. If you're in school (for example) and you're just sitting down at your desk twidling your thumbs, the brain is like a computer on stand-by. It isn't taking anything in. Yet when you're motivated, and you want to lear and you want to be there (or you just wanna "do your best"), that's when it starts actually functioning.

So to you, my trusted readers, I have this to say. When in you're in a tough fix, and you don't know how you're going to get out of it. Take a deep breath, close your eyes for a moment, and let that "Windows of Your Body" boot up. Motivate it, commit to it, and let the proccessor go. Just make sure it's running on "XP" and not "Vista". LOL, geek joke!


This time, the video has some different stuff to say. I made it before I wrote the blog entry. So everything on the video is just me rambling. lol

Saturday, January 05, 2008

I'm Seventeen... But I Don't Feel Any Different

(WARNING: SPELLING ERRORS AND MAJOR MISTAKES AHEAD.. I'm too lazy to edit)

Today, something very strange happened. I turned seventeen. I hear the number and I'm thinking to myself... man, I'm getting old. Not old in the sense of "man I'm old" more in the sense of "jeez, I'm seventeen and I don't feel anymore responsbile then when I was fifteen". So more important then me turning seventeen, what do I need to do now. What can I do to improve myself.

#1: I need to get along with writing my stories! I have about three cool ideas buzzing around in my head, I just can't seem to get them commited to paper. There is one infact, that I'm working out a script for (yes, a script, because one of my dreams is to make movies), and it seems to be coming along pretty well. I mean, it isn't an actual script yet, it isn't in the "proper format", but I've got all of the dialouge and stuff down alright. For two scenes anyways. They're beautiful scenes though. I've noticed that female characters are far more intresting to write for then male characters. Weird personal preference of mine.

#2: I need to become a bit more responsible as an individual. I'm nice. I'm most certainly not a jerk or anything, but man.. I could be a heck of alot more responsible. I need to take charge of my life instead of letting other people make my path for me. For the last year or so it's basiclaly been "I'll do whatever I need to do and nothing more then that". And really, that's not the kind of indivdual I want to be rememberd as when I die. I want to be remembered as somebody who jumped in and did "everything that he could do". Not just someone who got away with doing "just enough". Not that's bad or anything, but there is room for improvement, just like there is for everything.
And... really that's about it. I like the way I am right now, and besides becoming more responsible and bit more motivated, I'm pretty happy. So instead of talking about what are basically "New Year's Resoultions", let me summarize how my birthday went.

We went to the mall, we went shopping, we went out to eat. I now have all twelve volumes of Death Note as well as a couple more voulmes of Excel Saga, one volume of School Rumble, and one volume of Berzerk. Nothing too exciting, but I managed to get a load of cool manga out of it. Oh! And we went out to eat, that was really nice. If you haven't tried it already, BJ's pizza is amazing. I'm a massive pizza lover, and I've gotta admit, their pizza is probably the best I've ever had. No joke, I seriously think it is the best pizza.

So before I go mumbling on for too long, let me just say that, well, I feel that being seventeen is going to be a very special thing. Not because I'm one year older, but because if I develop as much "emotinally" as I had last year, I can't wait to see the man who emerges on my eigteenth birthday. So that'll just about rap this entry up. Bye y'all! (lol, bye y'all? That's... so not cool)



The video version of this blog entry. This is something I'm going to be doing quite often now, so look forward to it!

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Video Blog By Me!

xD Okay, it's really my voice rambling while anime pics float in the background, but whatever. I'm going to talk about other stuff other then anime in the near future, but at the moment... it's anime. LOL


Sunday, September 23, 2007

It Amazes Me Sometimes

Look around you anywhere you go, and you'll see a wide range of different people with different talents. No one is perfect, but some people are born with certain advantages. Which leads me to the whole point of this entry, how different we all are, but yet we're still living within the same world.

It simply amazes me to think that one child can be born perfectly normal, while another child can be born that very same minute and be mentally disabled. The child who was born normal has so many oppurtinites ahead of him right from the word go, yet the child who is mentally disabled immediately has a limited range. Not because he chose to be that way, but because he was born that way. It's really sad when you think about it.

Look beyond that though, and you run across something else entirely. Look at the parents that are taking care of that child. They still love him (or at least the good ones do), and they still want him to live his life as fully as he can. So they're still given a shot to live, just things might be a little tougher for them. The child is still surrounded by parents who love him, he can still appreciate many of the things that makes life what it is. So ultimately when it comes down to it... he's just different. Just like how I'm different from a lawyer, and how you're probably different from your best friend. He's no less human then any of the rest of us.

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Or how about people who become disabled through war? Talk about rough. *shudders* Not only do you have to deal with all of the emotinal scars of the battlefield, but you also have to struggle with physical ones as well. Gah! I just can't force myself to throw in a cute anime pic. This entry is too serious.

So how did this topic come up anyways, you might ask? xD I am getting a little preachy here, so I want to explain how this thought process came up. There's this kid at my college campus, maybe a year or two older then I am. I used to run into him everyday, and at first I found it kinda hard to look at him. You could tell, from the very second you saw him, something wasn't wired right. From the way he walked, to the way he talked, to his problem solving skills.... it just wasn't right. So whenever he popped up, I would just basically ignore him as best as I could. That was until one day, I actually had a conversation with him. He's a sweet guy!

It really made me think about things, and now whenever I see him (it is still a bit awkward, I will admit), I'm filled with a sort of admiration. He isn't likely to get married, he isn't likely to have a real relationship with anyone outside of his own family (if anyone does actually reach out to them, god bless their soul, they have more heart then I'll ever have), yet he's still on the college campus taking classes. He's still living. He has thoughts and emotions just like the rest of us (however simple they may be).

I just find it fascinating how different we all are. We're all wired differently, we all have different tastes and interests, and some of us are born with a better advantage then others. Yet we're all just truckin along together. It really opens your mind to alot of things, like how the way the world works now is probably far more accepting and loving then in any other point in time. We've improved quite a bit. Enough so that a handicapped child could grow up and get some sort of education, just like anyone else.

:) Hope I didn't get too preachy for you guys. *bows and leaves cookies* Next time I update, I should talk about anime or something. This blog needs more geeky entries!

Thursday, September 13, 2007

School Has Started, and My Motivation Has Tanked

Hey, y'all! I haven't updated my blog (or my LiveJournal) for so long that I finally decided to throw you guys a bone... you know, even though none of you read it. That'll change someday though. My one dream is to have about twenty or thirty comments on each of my blog entries. That would be the day.

So anyways, my college classes have started once again, but unfortuantely, I don't feel motivated to study what-so-ever! I try to get myself motivated and excited about studying, but to be honest, I just can't get myself to do it. Homework has been light, but there'll be a test coming up this coming Friday, which I SHOULD be studying for. But to be honest, I would rather watch my anime and dream about the future. This is the point where I remember that I won't have a future unless I get an education. That usually scares me straight xD

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Another thing I've noticed that kinda bugs me when I'm walking around campus... what is with girls and wearing an ungodly amount of makeup? They look pretty enough just being themselves. The twelve tons of cosmetics just makes them seem, I don't know.... fake? Is fake the right word? I'm not sure what it is, but I like women to just be themselves. When the make-up is that obvious, it is a major turn-off for me. Maaaaajjjjjooooooorrr.

:) Look forward to more entries this weekend! Peace out.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

The Movie Industry: Commerical Profit Over Creativity

I was browsing the net today, and I decided to look further into this "Rebuild of Evangelion" movie I've been hearing so much about. As a casual fan of the orginal source matieral, I couldn't help but get just a little excited about the concept. Take one of the weirdest anime shows ever created, and remake it into a four part movie series. It would have the same basic plot and premise as its orginal source matieral, but with brand spanking new animation, new scenes, and a reworked ending. 0_0 I was hyped! Heck, I still am hyped!

A couple hours, I stepped back and actually started to think about it. They did this before, they already made an Evangelion movie... and it sucked. It really sucked, actually. Now they're going to go back and milk a dead cow that has been in retirement for over ten years? Come on! Why doesn't the show's creator make something new we can be excited about, why remake Evangelion? Then it hit me. Creativity isn't what pays off in the end, it's all about the money.

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Rei! Now with more curve appeal and computer enhanced animation! This adds a whole new layer to the EVA mythos. You see, with Rei's new curve appeal and computer enhanced animation, we can now create a new kind of Evangelion. One with more curve appeal and computer enhanced animation!

I mean, look at the way Hollywood is run now. There isn't any quality control there?! The last two Pirates movies sucked, but I would bet you good money that we're going to see even more Captain Jack Sparrow in the near future. Not because it's necessary! Not because they have an orginal idea that would steer the series in a whole direction! But because it'll make the studio more money! Heck, we fall for it everytime. Disney has managed to feed me two extra doses of Pirates, and to be quite frank I don't care if I ever see Captain Jack Sparrow on the big screen again.

What made the first Pirates so appealing was the orginality of the characeter. Captain Jack was like nothing we had ever seen before, and the movie he starred in wasn't too bad either. It was easily some of the most fun I had at the cinema. I can't remember another movie where I laughed so often and so frequently. So when I heard they were going to make not only one, but "TWO" more outings for the then legendary "Jack Sparrow", I couldn't wait! Alas, I walked out of both Dead Man's Chest and At World's End thinking.... "What the hell went wrong?" It seemed like such a good idea on paper.

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Thank you for seeing my crappy sequel! I couldn't have made all this money without you!!

The truth was, neither the writers nor the director had anything new to add to the franchise. They would try to trick you into thinking otherwise though! The scripts were so sloopy that it would take a "Pirates Expert" to make any sense out of the whole thing. Does the movie have any kind of message? Is there really any point to all this swashbuckling? And more importantly... is this really entertainment, or a really bland carbon copy of what we've already seen. Honestly, it feels like the writers spent a whole 'weekend' devising this plot, and you can easily see where they liberally borrowed from just about every other successful trilogy ever made. This is Pirates, not Star Wars. If I wanted to watch epic drawn out battles, I would have watched Lord of the Rings. Just be Pirates for me! Not only are you uninspired and unorginal, but you have an identity crisis as well.

Looking at the movie business as a whole, it really feels nothing more then a huge commercal market. The most creative and thoughtful movies produced every year are usually in 'limited release', while the surprisngly uncreative "Spider-Man 3" is shown in every theatre under the sun. It's kinda sad really. If there was any true justice, the personal dramas would be at the top of the box office, not the sequels.

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The movie wasn't nearly as cool as this poster would make you think. It wasn't bad... but it wasn't particularly good either.

If a sequel is done well, then there's really no problem. But how often does that actually happen? When the sequel is just as good if not better then the orginal. I can only think of a few off the top of my head, and I know alot of people are going to disagree with me, but I usually don't agree with them either. xD I have a different taste in entertainment then most people.

-Toy Story 2 (just as funny, just as sharp, and just as 'strangely' touching as the orginal. The new characters didn't feel slapped on either, they actually had a reason to exist in this franchise besides the sales of 'Toy Story 2 merchandise.' Who could forget the famous freeway crossing scene?)

-Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (some actual emotinal substance with my Star Trek movie?!! Who da thunk it?! This one packs quite an emotinal wallop as well, easily out perfoming the orginal in every conceviable way. Awesome flick.)

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Kirk to Enterprise. .... My movie rocks!

-The Harry Potter franchise (what can I say, each movie is better then the last. It actually makes me sad that there'll only be seven, and that's saying alot)

-The Empire Strikes Back (darker, deeper, and contains some of the best writing out of any Star Wars film. Makes me wish that George had stuck to his day job, and let other people write his stories for him)

I could go on and on with this, so I'll just list the rest: "Aliens, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Lord of the Rings films..... gah, I give up! There just aren't very many."

This whole rant being said and done... I'm still excited about "Rebuild of Evangelion." I just find it funny how the majority of blockbuster hits now are either based on a pre-existing franchise or a succesful book. Where is the creativity? You can find it in 'limited release', but very rarely do you find it on the box office charts. So while the majority of people are being fed the same crap and paying good money for it, a 'real' movie written by an 'inspired' writer often just floats by without any media attention. Remember "The Iron Giant?" Of course you don't. No one remembers that movie. But it was damn good, especially for an animated flick.

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After seeing this poster, I really can't blame people for not having seen this. Trust me! It's alot better then it looks.

So I dedicate this blog post to director Anno Hideaki, who feels it necessary to milk his former glory instead of creating a brand new (and possibly more exciting) mythology. We don't need another Evangelion. I just want to watch great anime. I'll watch the movie because I'm an Evangelion fan (and I have a feeling it's gonna be "sugoi"... but that's the geeky side speaking again), but I still can't help but feel a little weird. This guy is feeding me the same story all over again. That's worse then making a sequel. That's about as low as you can get without jumping into prequel territory. I hope your movie turns out great, because I really want to see it. But maybe next time you should rekindle your relationship with Mr. Pen and Mr. Paper and make something new for us. Something truly new. Not something 'kinda new' that you know will make you money. You already have enough money. You're an artist! Make art!

.... Okay, that's the end of my rant. xD Hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I did typing it.

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At least I'll stil have Rei.... now with more curve appeal and computer enhanced animation! xD

Sunday, August 26, 2007

A Brief History of Blogging

Hey everyone! I'm finally getting back into the blogging game, since I really don't have anything better to do at the moment (watched a particularly boring sci-fi flick, which I'll review later). As I type this out, I have become curious how this entire blogging sensation started. I mean, now it seems like everyone has a blog. Just a few months ago, I was surfing around looking at people's anime blogs... and there is alot of us out there! I mean, dang, it makes me happy to be a geek. :) All that aside, I've become really curious about the history of blogging, so right this very moment I'm logged into Wikipedia to check it out. What follows is a brief report of my findings. *giggles* I feel like Indiana Jones or something, finding the lost history of an ancient peoples. xD

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This was kinda what I felt like... until I discovered a terrible truth!

.... I have just now realised that I really don't wanna spend the time nor the effort to copy and paste this stuff in my own words. So, I'll just give you guys the link. I find it really fascinating, considering that I am a blogger. We should know more about our origins! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogging

*sigh* Wikipedia is a wonderful site.

Friday, August 24, 2007

Love and What It Means to People

*bows* I apologise if my blog updates have been becoming less and less frequent, but since Christine seems to be the only person reading my blog anyways, that's no big loss. I've been keeping myself busy with doing geeky things, while avoiding the things I really should be doing. It really is great fun! My Nintendo Wii is still a god, and I have been watching anime like there'll be no tommorrow. Can't wait till school starts though, I miss studying. As strange as that may sound (I really quit enjoy it).

But anyways, I'm getting way off topic here.

The other day, I was surfing the "Extended Discussion" board on Gaia Online, which seems to be the only place you can go to have an intelligent conversation on that site. As I scrolled through the dozens of religious arguments and pro-feminism topics, I finally found something that caught my eye. Someone had made a topic about "love" and what it means. She asked that we each respond and describe what the word "love" means to us personally. I thought this was really interesting, not because of the topic in general, but because of the surprising array of different descriptions. It's really interesting how a universal idea like love can take so many different forms and mean as much or as little as a person wants it to. Fascinating stuff.
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Love is Saber from Fate Stay Night. ... Not really, but I felt like sharing a pic of this awesome character anyways. My new favorite!

You had people who were obviously in the middle of a relationship, and stated that love was the feeling that two individuals share when in each others arms (gag!). There were others that believed that true love doesn't exist (emo types). I quote a strange looking Gaia avatar when I say "When you can levitate a skittle, you are in love."

What surprised me most was how narrow everyone's description of love seemed to be. They didn't seem to get that love, no matter which was you look at it, is everywhere we go. Below I will attempt, with questionable quality no doubt, to write down my own description. Why? Mostly because I'm bored, but also because I consider myself a "lover" in the most traditonal sense. I love to love life. xD That made... pefect sense.

"Love is what drives us, without love we have no reason to go on. The entire reason we live is to love.

When one witnesses a beautiful orange sunset, is one not feeling love? When one enters their house to watch an episode of Stargate SG-1.. is that not love? When you look into the eyes of someone you care for, and they stare back with the same intensity, are you not feeling love?

It is my humble opinion that love isn't something you can classify, for it embodies all things good and all things pure. If you enjoy doing something, you are performing an action of love. If you're cleaning the house for your mother as a surprise when she gets home from work, you are perfoming a labor of love. When you kiss your significant other softly on the lips, you are performing a very tender act of love.

We can't survive without love just like we can't survive without oxygen. Remember that really sappy oldies song? 'Love is Like Oxygen?' They had it all right. Love makes you high."


That was weird. *laughs* I just made that all up in five minutes, so if you were expecting poetry, you came to the wrong place. I actually quite like it though.. especially the Stargate reference. That was a very nice touch!

To close my thoughts, don't be afraid to let love in. Love is amazing.


Today's Review: Neon Genesis Evangelion (An Anime)
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A cute picture of an anime that is everything but. Prepare for a dark depressing ride through the human condition.

What I Liked About Evangelion: I'll just say it straight out, I went head over heels for Evangelion. It was the best anime I had seen since Eureka Seven, and that was saying alot. Sure, there were giant robots protecting Earth from an unknown alien force, but it was done so well that I really didn't care how silly the plot was. EVA (Evangelion) was one of those anime that you completely forget that you were watching a cartoon. These characters feel more real to me then in any recent Hollywood production, and I couldn't wait to see how the show's numerous mysteries were going to unfold. Which leads me to why I hate EVA now, after watching the entire series.

What I Hated About Evangelion: This perfectly engaging show is ruined by what is perhaps the worst conclusion I have ever seen to any kind of story (and I've seen alot of bad endings). It left me speechless, wondering what the hell the writer/director was thinking! It feels like a cold hard slap in the face after all the time you spent watching the show. Nothing is explained, the plot dives straight into script hell, and I'm left angry and bitter. Thanks alot EVA! You just ended up being another "Lost".

Rating: B- (great anime ruined by absurdly weak conclusion)




Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Wii Love the Wii!

I haven't updated as often as I've been wanting to, but I have a really good excuse. A few days ago, I bought a Nintendo Wii. After the continuous dissapointment as far as the PS3's line-up is concerned, I finally decided to go next-gen with Nintendo. After all, they are selliing the most amount of systems at the moment, meaning that alot of my favorite companies are no doubt going to make alot of orginal games for the system (can't wait to se what Square-Enix does with the motion control). After hours upon hours of hands on experience, I can say without a doubt that the Nintendo Wii is something else. Heck, I would even go so far as to say that it's the most innovative video game system yet realsed. The games are great, the extras are awesome, and the motion control is as smooth as silk. It's... just... too... freaking... cool.

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Nagato loves the Wii too! *hugs* Gives me even more reason to love her.

One thing that I did like was how easy Internet gaming is on the Wii. You don't have to sign onto some weird thing like X-Box Live in order to enjoy a good game of Mario Strikers, which I've only played online once, but that's not the point. On top of that, you can download old games from the NES all the way to the N64 for no more then ten dollars (they range from five to ten dollars, depending on what you want to download). Buying Super Mario World is probably the best eight bucks I ever spent.. period.

I was worried about the motion control at first, but after spending a couple hours with it, it feels just as natural as using a normal controler. Now to all of you who love to whine about the controler.... actually try it out for me then just a few a practice runs. It's not "on crack", like some people like to call it (sorry Christine, your anti-wii statements fed fuel to my pro-wii fire).

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Who said you needed great graphics to have fun?

Plus, they're making a Bleach fighting game!!!! Okay, it probably won't be any good.. but as a Bleach fan, I can't help but be a little excited. I can finally see how a fight between Orihime and Ichigo would go! Of course, Orihime would win.. because I would be playing as her. And she'd kick Ichigo's butt. xDD

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Bleach..... for the Wii! *has geek attack*

I need to stop typing and get back to playing my Wii. Wii will update later.

Today's Review: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (A Book..... duh)
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What I Loved About This Book: This is, on the whole, a fantastic conclusion to the Harry Potter series. There's drama, action, suspense, clever plot twists, and one of the best endings in recent memory. J.K. Rowling has managed to take what is basically a very traditional good versus evil story and shape it into something so unique and new that, to be honest, I can't really compare this series to anything else out there.
This book itself is one of the best in the series (if not the best in the series). I would have to go back and read all of the books from begginning to end to make a true comparsion, but this was easily the darkest and the most emotinal Harry Potter book so far. A must read... but you really didn't need me to tell you that.

Some Closing Thoughts: This book could have been trimmed down by about two-hundred pages. It really started to drag in the middle, and I couldn't help but feel that J.K. Rowling was trying a little too hard for every character to have their time in the spotlight. There is an entire scene in Gringotts as well that just turned me off. Don't ask me why, it just did.
Five hundred and fifty pages sounds more appropriate for the amount of plot that she was developing. While all of the extra subplots and details really don't detract from the story, they kept me from doing any "all nighters". The ending made up for it though. It.... was...... amazing.

Rating: A- (drags a bit in the middle, but it is still a fantastic conclusion to an enchanting series)

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Just Another Day... I'm Bored Out of my Mind

There are both positives and negatives towards not having any school for the next few weeks, but from my perspective at the moment, it's mostly negative. I have very little to build towards at the moment, unless of course you're talking about my current addiction to Evangelion (only another thirteen episodes before I finish the series, it's pretty short). Not the best anime show I've ever seen, but it's still pretty good. Not "Fullmetal Alchemist" good, more like "Haruhi" good or "Bleach" good.

xDD Gah! Can't I make a single entry without mentioning anime for once! :) Anyways, i've kind of made a deal with myself to try a little harder this next week at achieving my goals. Even though they may not be massive, they're still there, and part of the fun of life is to apply yourself and just "go for the gold". So starting tommorrow, I'm going to try and do that. It should be fun, to say the very least. I'll try and make a blog entry every night before I go to sleep as well, you know, to keep you guys posted on what is currently clattering in the mind of Kaleb Stewart. Oh! And look forward to some mini-reviews in every entry. I watch alot of TV and read alot of stuff, and unfortuantely, it's become too much of a pain to jam it all into one entry. Look forward to it!


Today's Mini-Review: Walk The Line (A Film)
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What I Liked About this Movie: The perfomances were excellent and the movie was superbly crafted. My compliments to the director. There were waaaaayy too many concert "singing" scenes, but that was probably just because I dislike Johnny Cash's music. 0_0 Resse Witherspoon is still amazing. No matter what perfomance she's in, she nails it! Fantastic job.

What I Hated About this Movie: I'll just go out and say that I highly disliked this movie. It's about a washed out jerk who ends up making alot more then he deserves, and how he leaves his family and stalks after June Carter. I respect the movie and what it was trying to achieve, I just found it all very boring and uninteresting. Johnny Cash is a jerk who managed to make great music, that's all you basically need to know about this movie. Oh! And June Carter was crazy for staying with him. By the end of the movie, I was really starting to think about all of the other things I could've done with the time. Could have Wrote...could have read Harry Potter...could have studied for my DMV test..could have watched a drama about people worth giving a damn about.

Rating: C+ (some people will love it, but I just couldn't get into it)

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Inspiration Comes Out of Thin Air Sometimes

I was sitting down in front of my computer the other night, still developing the characters for this story that has been in the works for the last couple months or so. The problem was, I felt the story lacked any sort of orginality. Not from the plot, but from the characters. What every great story needs is strong likable character, and my leading man just wasn't cutting it for me. We have had so many pieces of science fiction and fantasy that revovle around young boys growing up and becoming a man, and I've found through alot of my manga reading and anime viewing that, well, very rarely do you see a female character in the main role of a sci-fi story unless she's some kind of tough samurai chick or something. Then... it hit me!

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Evangelion, my current anime obsession. I've only seen eight episodes, but they were all pretty intense.

That's what I need to do, just switch the genders! It'll be awesome! Instead of having it be the guy who's finding his way in the world through these extraordinary events, you'll have your average ordinary girl becoming a woman. All of my favorite charcters in the anime I watch are usually female anyways, so why not make the leading character a girl? It's pretty genius, if I may say so myself (and again, I sound like I've discovered something new, lol).

Plus, it would draw in a completely different perspective to a story that needed some real life in the first place. xDD Okay, I need to go watch Evangelion now! Will update again soon.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

"Things That I've Watched, Read, Or Done": Vol. 3

I've returned after a very long break, to give you some new reviews and opinions on somethings that I've watched, read, or done as of late. So let's get crackin!

Blades of Glory (A Film in Review)
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This could have been sooooooo funny if written and acted by the right people. Unfortuantely, we're stuck with another piece of Will Ferrell crap.

Seriously, Who Wrote This Garbage: I don't expect much from my dumb comedies, I just want to laugh. Zoolander had me laughing all the way through, while Blades of Glory just made me cringe. Bad dialouge, horrible jokes, and terrible comedic performances all wrapped around a concept that could have been funnier then hell. But somehow, everyone invovled in the production found a way to screw it up... big time! Don't even bother.

There Was One Good Thing Though...: Jenna Fischer is cuuuuuuttee with a capital "C". Basically, that's the only good thing I could remember from this train wreck. 0_0 Super kawaii!

Jon Heder: Is the most annoying actor working in the industry right now. Why do they keep on hiring him?! He's annoying!

Rating: D+ (maybe next time they could bring some class along with their humor)



The Place Promised in Our Early Days (An Anime Film in Review)
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I Don't Know What To Say: I both loved and hated this movie, and yes, it is possible to feel both things at the same time. In one corner, you have a beautiful film telling what could have been the most touching story ever told through animation, and then in the other corner you have an extremely slow paced sci-fi flick that bores more then it entertains. There are scenes of such depth and beauty that you can't help but be drawn into the director's vision, but then afterwards they throw you into some crazy weird internal monolouge with some of the most angst ridden teens I've ever heard. Honestly! Your life can't suck that bad man, get over it.


This Is What I Loved: You want to prove to your anime hating friend that Japanese animation invovles alot more then just ninjas and crazy Dragonball fights? Sit them in front of this movie, and they'll never look at anime the same way again. At it's best moments, this is a gorgeous, deep, and visually captivating movie. At times, it feels more like a visual poem then it does a feature lenght film.. and that's where the problems start to set in.

This is What I Hated: I don't ask for much, I just want coherancy. For the first half of the film, I was completely and utterly confused. I really had no idea what the heck was going on. It wasn't until I was about two-thirds of the way into the film that I started to put the pieces together and.. it all kind of sort of made sense. I'm still a little fuzzy about alot of the plot details, but on a purely emotinal level it all made sense. But that isn't enough to make a film off of a plot that seems to be only half-baked. It's almost like they took someone's outline of a story, and they based their story off of that. You still have some beautiful scenes and some tremendous visuals, but the story just doesn't connect the way it should. Which is too bad, because with a little more work and character development, this could have been a real masterpiece.

The Ending: It may not have been complete sense, but this movie had one fantastic ending. Of all the things this girl could lose, the one thing one of the main leads is worried about is not dying, but forgetting how great it feels to be in love. Some of the best dialouge of any anime I've seen so far (this isn't the exact dialouge, but more an ad-lib of what I can remember):

"Oh no! Oh no, I.. if he rescues me, I might lose something. I might lose something very imporant. I might forget how this feels... I might forget to tell him how much I love him, how much I loved him. When we were all alone, just the two of us."

...... I'm getting the tingles just by thinking about it. Too bad it wasn't in a better paced movie.

Rating: C+ (what a dissapointment. There is so much going right for this movie, but it only works for about thirty minutes of its ninty minute running time. The rest of the time, I was either bored or frusturated. Would have worked better as a thirty minute short then a feature length film. Should have been a masterpiece, but lazy writing strikes again!)

Finding Nemo Submarine Voyage (A Disneyland Ride in Review)

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Disney at It's Best: One thing is for sure, this is one of the best rides Disney has made in the last ten years (if not the best). Right from the moment I walked into the submarine, Disney had gripped me with their magic and didn't let go. Right when I thought the ride couldn't get cooler, it blew me away with yet another outstanding scene or dazzling effect. I love love loved this ride!

Children May Cry: The Angel Fish is offically awesome! Not only will he have freaked kids out when the movie first came out, but now he's going to be freaking little kids out in the ride as well. Angel fish.. you are my new hero. *salutes*

Rating: A- (I felt like a little kid riding this for the first time, and that in and of itself makes this ride one of the best in the park)

The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya (A Re-Review of an Anime)Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

What Was I Thinking: After having rewatched Haruhi, I am now willing to admit that my previouis review was a bit harsh. I mean.. I only gave the show a "B-"? B-?! I even said it was a fun ride.. and I only gave it a B-?! xDD That had been bugging me for a while now, so now I'm going to set the record straight and say that this is probably the best anime comedy/sci-fi/drama/high-school romance/fantasy/ series I've seen so far! And yes, all five of those genres apply.

It May Be Crazy: But it isn't stupid. In my first review, I went so far as to say that Haruhi was basically a "stupid" show, when actually, it is one of the smarter comedies I've run into for a while. I guess I was just used to the angst and drama of Fullmetal Alchemist and Eureka Seven that I just couldn't appreciate "Haruhi" for what it was. A great time!

Rating: B+ (it isn't perfect by any stretch, but it is easily the best anime comedy I've seen so far. Just watch the episodes in chronological order instead of the broadcast order, and you should enjoy it)



Wednesday, July 04, 2007

It's Story Time!

Just yesterday, my mom and grandmother managed to bribe me into going to the casino. Of course, I didn't gamble (I'm not legal yet), but instead had to stay in the hotel room while the family went to the slot machines. I rented a truly terrible Will Farrel movie called "Blades of Glory", which I suggest none of you see! @_@ It has to be one of the worst comedies I've seen since Epic Movie. While they were off gambling (aka "wasting money"), I stayed in the room and played my DS while reading my InuYasha manga (great series, by the way). At around one o' clock in the morning, my dad and I went out to eat at the casino's food court, and on the way there something completely and totally scary happened.

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I really don't see the point in these things. Honestly, it's like lighting your cash on fire.

This one Korean lady, probably late twenties early thirties, approached me. As if that wasn't weird enough, she kind of glared at me and said "I think I'm in love". xDD I responded in typical fashion, quickly walking away before she realises that she's hitting on a minor. She was obviously drunk out of her mind, but just the thought of someone hitting on me like that is kind of disturbing.. even if I was legal. Dad was laughing his butt off though! *shakes head* I had to put up with some teasing on his part until we got our food.

Speaking of the food, it took them about an hour to give us two burgers and some fries! It was absurd. Sure, it was really late at night, but this is a casino. Don't they realise that the time people are waiting for their food could be used at the craps table risking all of their supposed "savings". So anyways, the food was luke warm by the time we got it. It didn't taste so hot either (no pun intended).

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Come, waste all your hard earned cash! We'll be waiting.

I spend the rest of the night watching anime on Adult Swim, which isn't too bad once I'd gotten past the "bad English dub" gag reflex. I mean honestly, the voice for Kagome is awful! And those fedual era warriors, don't even get me started on those guys. It's still entertaining, but you think they could put more effort into making the voice work sound earnest and authentic.

So what did I learn? That drunk Korean ladies are scary! Nuff' said.

Tuesday, July 03, 2007

I'm Really Tired

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As most of the people who have hung around me know, I used to love making YouTube videos and uploading them. It was a blast! I thought ninty-percent of my videos were of questionable quality though, and I ended up getting a little burned out on it for a while there. But now that's about to change!

I found a new site on the web that has peeked my interest back into making YouTube videos. Just last night, I was making a really random vid with episodes from "The Melancholy of Haruhi". That's right, I was up till three in the morning editing and pasting together a silly anime video. xD Yeah, that thing called having a real life is still slightly out of sight.. but who can argue when I mixed Dr. Phil audio with one of my favorite anime shows? That's right! I so totally went there. *laughs*

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I swear that this will be the last Haruhi pic for a while. I swear! .... Why does no one believe me?!

I really want to start over with my YouTube thing though. I'm going to be starting a new profile and everything, although I'll alert my previous subscribers that I'll be moving (and I won't be taking my old vidoes with me). Unfortuantely, I don't think they'll be so understanding. They're an awesome group, but they can be a little needy at times. But seriously, I love you guys! I just never want to make another Kingdom Hearts video!

So anyways, now I'm super tired (I got up at six o' clock in the morning). I'm going to clean the bathrooms now, you know, wake me up to reality. :) Planning to finish my video tonight, then launch my new YouTube account. Fun fun fun, every waking minute! Will update tommorrow.

Monday, July 02, 2007

Gunstar Super Heros: You'll Need Anger Management Classes

Yesterday, I was lucky enough to get a new GBA game. Yes, I still play GBA games.. you've got a problem with that? Anyways, one trip to the Wal-Mart later, I landed myself a copy of Gunstar Super Heros. I heard alot about this game from a few different sources (I think X-Play gave it a 5 out of 5, but I don't trust them anymore), so I figured I would give it a go. To make this brief, here's a number of lessons you will learn from Gunstar Super Heros.


The game may look cute, but don't let it deceive you. It'll kick your butt!

Lesson 1: DON'T START A NEW GAME ON HARD! The game is challenging enough as it is, starting off on the hardest difficulty is one way to ensure an angry/violent breakdown. I probably landed myself about 30 game overs on one boss last night. *cries* It isn't fair, damn it!

Lesson 2: Keep your cool! No matter how any times you get a game over, nothing is impossible. Even if that boss seems to have ungodly strength and an amazingly stellar special attack.. just don't let it get to you. Take yoga if you must. Find your center.

Lesson 3: If you get frusturated, start a New Game on Easy. It will relieve the stress you've been going through, trust me. Just sit back, and watch the bullets fly.

Lesson 4: Man, I need to get a life. Will blog again later.

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I think I'm gonna start havign nightmares about these guys. Getting crushed by the same boss over and over and over and over and over and over AND OVER AND OVER! *catches breath* I'm okay now, I'm okay.

Sunday, July 01, 2007

My New Super Cute Wallpaper!

This is seriously, the best wallpaper ever! :) It was so great that I had to make a little blog entry about it.

http://wallpapers.theotaku.com/view.php?action=retrieve&id=118723 You try and tell me that isn't the cutest wallpaper in the world! ... That's what I thought xDD

The Nemo Report: The Subs Are Back!

About a week ago, I had the great pleasure of riding the Finding Nemo: Submarine Voyage with one of my best buds. The day wasn't exactly going smoothly for my friend, since this was his first time going to Disneyland with the homeschool group (he's public schooled). Let's just say that... he wasn't clicking very well with the rest of us. So, half-way through the day, I decided to give my friend a little piece of mind, and go on the new and improved subs without the rest of the group. They were driving him nuts! I have never seen him act so weird before.. he wouldn't speak to anyone. I had to do something about it!. Luckily I had some fun with the group, but I have a feeling he won't be coming back for seconds. We are a bit on the hyper side, afterall.
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0_0 So pretty! It makes me.. happy! Which is a big deal... for me.

So anyways, I just want to get this out of the way. THE SUBS WERE AMAZING! I haven't been this impressed by a Disneyland ride in I don't know how long. It was everything I could have possibly hoped for a Nemo based ride, and then some. Pretty much every key scene in the film is used as inspiration for the new Submarine Voyage, making the entire thing feel unusually authentic. This wasn't just some rehash that they slapped together like *coughcough*SpaceMountain*coughcough*! This was a really well put together update of an attraction that, from what I heard, really needed a fresh coat of paint to begin with.

I was seriously ranting and raving about the ride the minute I got out. I personally think it's the best thing to happen to Disneyland since Haunted Mansion.. and no I am not joking! Nemo made me feel like a little kid again, riding Indiana Jones for the very first time. I jumped, I smiled, heck I was even at the point of laughing. I felt like I was high off of "Nemo". The coolest thing is.... this ride will scare the crap out of little kids. *devilish laugh* If there's anything I love, it's seeing scared kids at Disneyland! *sigh* Brings me back to the old days.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket The subs are back! Let's just hope they never leave us again.

So what was the point of this entry? Nemo was fantastic, and you must ride it! Nuff' said. I'm going to sleep. Will have a more complete run-through of the ride when I get to my "Reviews Entry". I've already made two of them, so why not make another one. Good night!

Ouija Boards (Why I Won't Touch One)

Alright, I just got back from a little nerd research, mostly because I'm bored out of my mind right now. So anyways, I don't know how the entire thing ended up swinging towards Ouija boards.. but it did. And now I may have a little issue getting myself to sleep tonight. Not because I believe in the stuff, but because the thought of a spirit completely taking a hold of your life is the scariest thing I can possibly think of. .... I sure hope writing a blog entry about it doesn't affect my future in some freaky 'Exorcist' way. *cries*

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Be afraid. Be veeerry afraid.

So anyways, let me just go right out and say it, I am a bit of a spirtual skeptic. I believe in spirtuality and the effects it can have on people, but alot of actual spirtual concepts I find extremely hard to believe. I love alot of the concepts and I understand why people would choose to follow them, but they just don't work into how my mind runs. Which is probably why, I don't have a specific religion. Don't have one now, and probably will never have one. I'm just happy living my life the way it is. So why would a plastic board made by Parker Brothers scare me? Because of the possibility that there might be something out there, and that I could possibly screw up my life because of it. That's reason enough to stay away from Ouija boards.

I mean, are we so curious to talk to spirits that we are willing to put everything on the line because of it. After looking up Ouija boards online, and after watching a few YouTube videos (which are probably acted out by the way), there is no way I'd be willing to risk my sanity to experiment with this stuff. People have gone nuts over these things! It has happened! They were probably already a little nuts before they tried it, but still.. you've gotta admit that's really scary. All of a sudden you could be lying in your bed, and you've just realised that you have an unwanted guest in your room (and he isn't a Grim Grinning Ghost). Scccaaarrrrrryyy!
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Another picture of the same damn thing! *sigh* What can I insert here that would be geeky?

But after reading some brief histories about Ouija boards, my sceptism can't help but turn on full blast. Would Parker Brother's really sell a game at Toys R' Us that truly allowed you to communicate with evil spirits. If so many people have experimented with this stuff and all of them have had "horrible edge of your seat horror flick experiences", then why hasn't the thing been BANNED YET! I know some hardcore Christian groups have probably already tried, but you get what I'm saying. Parker Brothers is not linked with the devil or to any spirtual realm out there. Parker Brothers sells board games!

Then you have people on the other side of things that say that, well, it doesn't matter if it was made by a board game company. If a demon or evil spirit finds a way to communicate, it will use it. Which brings me to my next point.. if demon's were so keen on corrupting people and taking over their lives, you would think that they would find better means then to use a piece of prediticable plastic which only seems to work if you have two people in the room. It brings to my mind a scene from the Sixth Sense where the kid looks away from what he was writing, and his true feelings would just start spilling out onto the paper while he kept his hand moving. Why wouldn't evil spirtis just try and do something like that? That seems to make alot more sense. Why do they need to have this magical entrance (aka the Parker Brother's Ouija board) to talk to you. If demons really did exist, I think we would see their actions more often within our everyday world.. and the fact that it seems to be only those that are religious or mentally ill that claim to have seen them and their corruption.. well that doens't quite cut it for me. The things that are corrupting our world are evil people, not some mythological force that no one can really seem to accurately describe.

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It's geeky, and yet kind of sort of on topic. You know, because of withces and the occult and.. yeah. It was basically an excuse to throw an anime girl into this otherwise creepy entry!

*catches my breath* Of course, that doesn't mean that something weird might not be out there. Heck, I could be wrong about the entire evil spirt thing. That's why I'm never touching an Ouija board! After seeing and reading all that creepy stuff on the Web, I personally think the things shouldn't be sold in mainstream stores. Stuff linked with spirtualtiy in such an easy exciting way can play with people's minds, no matter who you are. If I got up in front of a Ouija board, which I won't because they scare me, some weird stuff might happen. Now whether this would be linked towards a spirit realm, or whether it is just purely in my head.. that's something else entirely.

Wow, maybe it isn't such a great idea to read about this stuff late at night. :) Will tell you guys if anything weird happens, which it won't (well, probably anyways). *jumps as my IM begins making noise* I will try and update soo! *bows* Peace out!

List of References (even though I didn't use any):
A Random YouTube vid I watched: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhDmJpEIe8M

Yet Another Random YouTube Vid I Watched (some guys blog entry about the dangers of Ouija boards): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XE5foC-EQmw

The Wikipeida Page (Gotta Love Those Guys): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ouija_Boards

A Skeptic Page (Let's Shed Some Light on the Subject): http://www.skepdic.com/ouija.html