The Fighting Mongooses

Created By Shinmaru

Remembrance

Boy, I'm glad I don't have any friends, because then I wouldn't be able to do this.

(Come on, you know there was no way that post wasn't happening.)

Anyway ... unlike a lot of people, I don't have especially strong memories of Sept. 11, 2001. I remember seeing the attacks on TV, the horror on my parents' faces and then going to school -- and that's it. The rest of the day is nothing. Not a single memory. I don't know why.

When I think about that day and the aftermath of it, however, I think the biggest tragedy is that an act of such utter and brutal hatred has left so much hatred here in its wake (stronger anti-Muslim sentiment, stronger anti-Jew sentiment, increased fervor for war, etc.). As someone who grows closer to being a pacifist every day (a libertarian pacifist, hahaha, how's that for irony?), it is not pleasant to see war, violence and hatred continue to flourish. (The Russia/Georgia war just being the latest example of this.)

That's really all I have to say, except, you know, try to live your life and stand for the opposite of what all that hatred and brutality represents.

EDIT: Also, I wrote what I think is a pretty decent article on showing and telling in writing at the Writers Bloc. Plz read kthx. (The most fun part of that was thinking up the examples. Now I know how SomeGuy feels each week when thinking of sentences to go with the Wednesday Word.)

Changes

So, I finished my internship today, which means I am now officially a jobless bum. Yay! Had a ton of fun there, and I will definitely be keeping up with my co-workers, because they rock. Time to go job hunting! Blargh. Ugh, I also remembered I have to write a 15-page report about the whole internship dealie. What fun.

In other news, I am almost finished with Utena (two episodes remaining!). I'll save the freakout for a long OB post, but, man, I am soooooooo sad Utena has to end. These last few episodes have been nuts. Akio making the moves on Utena is simultaneously horrifying and amazing. WHY MUST YOU MAKE ME FEEL THIS WAY, WRITERS?! Also, I felt really sad during the whole badminton game among Juri, Miki and Utena for reasons that are beyond me.

So, once Utena is finished, I will be looking for something else to watch -- I would like recommendations from you fine people! Other than Utena, I am keeping up with Shugo Chara!, randomly watching Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu and finally finishing Zoku Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei about a billion months after I actually should have.

I am open to pretty much anything, but here are some of my favorites to give you an idea of what I like:

Utena (obviously)
RahXephon
Monster
Cowboy Bebop
Ouran High School Host Club
Gurren Lagann
Clannad
Boogiepop Phantom
Genshiken
The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya
Death Note
Neon Genesis Evangelion

So, there you go. I was actually thinking about watching Air next, but I would like more input -- if I don't watch suggested series right away, I will probably watch them eventually. Sell me on the awesomeness of your suggested series, too, because I enjoy reading that, and I assume everyone else does, too.

Lastly, I changed my avatar after God knows how long -- it's still Audrey Tautou, though, because she is too lovely to give up. The best part about my new avatar is Audrey is smiling lovingly at all my comments, exactly as she would in real life.

EDIT: So, um, as the result of much chat goofiness, I present to you all:

Cowbell!Mikuru One and Cowbell!Mikuru Two

EDIT2: Also Cowbell!Haruka.

EDIT3: And, of course, can't bring up cowbell without referencing the original: COWBELL DESU~

Likes and Dislikes

Do any of you have something (whether it's a movie, TV show, book or whatever) you like -- you may not even like it that much -- that, for whatever reason, you feel an intense urge to defend when someone throws out even the slightest insult against it?

I have no idea why, but I feel this for Dragon Ball Z. Yes, I know. I KNOW. Trust me, I know every fault the series has inside and out, and I agree they are very serious faults (understatement of the century, I realize). But, God help me, I still like watching the 'tard. I have searched deep inside my soul many times, but I cannot find the answer to this. If I want blind action, there are a bajillion better series to go to. If I want goofy humor, there are a bajillion better series to go to. If I want to shut my brain off, there are a bajillion better series to go to. Yet I can't escape DBZ. It is a horrible disease, and I know it is a horrible disease, but if someone throws out a bad word against it, then I am there to fend off the hatred. It is totally instinctual; I probably have some fucking DBZ genome hardwired into my DNA or some shit. Ugh, this is depressing me the more I think about it, so let's move on to the second part of this.

On the flip side, is there something where, under normal circumstances, you would just not like the movie/book/show/whatever, but because of abnormal circumstances, you have come to view this thing with an intense hatred reserved for those who murder your family?

For me, The Boondock Saints fills my mind with a venomous hatred such that I am surprised my skull does not melt when I think about it. The hype for this movie was just so enormous before I saw it, and ALL my friends talked it up like crazy, and then I finally watched it and was like, "OMG, I think I hate life now." I mean, it reaches a level of fail that would embarrass Ace. It tries to do so much, and the results are just so miserable. It fails as an action movie, outside of a couple of nifty stunts. It fails horribly as a morality tale. It fails as a black comedy. It fails as a hip crime movie. The director and writer, Troy Duffy, must not have watched enough Quentin Tarantino, because he fails really hard at making homages to better movies. Just ... God, when I think about this turd, I want to communicate solely in the foulest blasphemies possible. There is no level of sacrilege evil enough to symbolize the hate I am feeling at this moment. I don't even think it is the worst movie ever made; circumstances just made me despise it with the passion of a thousand suns.

Anyway, no real reason for this, except maybe that extreme reactions to anything are hilarious. Share!

The Obsession Grows

After noticing there was no category for Revolutionary Girl Utena avatars on OB, I went ahead and made some today. They are definitely not of the quality of most avatars people submit on OB, mainly because 1) I suck at this and 2) Most of the Utena pics I found on the 'net suck. Oh well. The important thing is people can finally have their Kid!Touga and Kid!Saionji avatars.

Right now I am through ep26. The new arc is starting exactly how I thought it would, and I am not complaining about it one bit. After ep26, I am wondering how I could have thought Shiori was such a hot evil chick (which I still think) and at the same time have totally glossed over Kozue. Well, um, she showed me a thing or two, haha. I'll never doubt you again, my dear! Wish there were better Evil!Kozue pics around -- the more evil women avatars there are, the better.

I am beside myself with excitement about ep27, because it is apparently another Nanami comedy episode. It feels weird to be so eager about brushing aside the main story for some laughs, but Nanami has yet to fail me so far, so I am expecting another chunk of gold from this episode. Then we can get more dueling -- if I am guessing correctly, Juri is up next. Oh, baby. Anticipation levels up to 11!!!!!

In other news, this is my last week at my internship. I have had a ton of fun there, and I am sad to be going. Don't know if there are any job opportunities there at the moment, but I'm definitely going to let them know I'm interested should any arise. I am actually interested in pursuing copy editing as a career now -- I would not be earning much less than I would as a journalist, and I am pretty damn good at it if I do say so myself. The biggest problem I can see is there are definitely fewer positions for copy editors than there are for journalists. I shall persevere, however, because I am awesome.

What else ... all my Rock Band playing has vastly improved my skill at Guitar Hero III. This week I went through all the songs in hard mode and beat my high scores one by one, sometimes by as much as 70,000 points. I finally have the hang of hammer ons and pull offs, though I still can't beat "One" on hard because it is Satan incarnate.

Lastly, some plugging:

Allamorph can't get into theO chat because his college campus sucks. Help him out by visiting his AIM chats. The room is nullspace.
lol @ Des
RANDOM WRITERS BLOC PLUG

OK, I am out.

This Is Depressing

I linked to that Empire Top 500 Movies of All Time dealie a while ago, and it appears as if Empire went through all the votes and compiled their list. Empire released its top 100 via a collage of magazine covers it will be releasing ~~over who knows how many months~~ this month.

I had a nice look see at the top 100 ... and exactly one movie from my list made the list. Sooooooooooooo lame. (It's The Empire Strikes Back btw.) My taste isn't even totally outside the mainstream lol. Once again, my (awesome) list:

1. Dr. Strangelove
2. The Empire Strikes Back
3. Psycho
4. Duck Soup
5. Dog Day Afternoon
6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
7. Grave of the Fireflies
8. The Hustler
9. Paths of Glory
10. Mulholland Dr.

Some people aren't liable to vote for in droves, of course, but the film geeks couldn't come out for Strangelove? Psycho? People adore Eternal Sunshine -- that couldn't get the recent movie vote? Come on.

Check out some of the gems that got on in lieu of my favorites (no, I'm not bitter at all):

Speed (WTF)
The Gold Rush (not a bad movie by any means, but this gets on and not Duck Soup? INJUSTICE)
Titanic (not at all surprised this is on the list ... but, seriously, come on)
Superman: The Movie (am I seriously alone in hating this? Ugh. Couldn't believe this is so revered as it is when I first watched it)
Top Gun (oy vey)
Men in Black (I like it, but ... good lord. My faith in humanity is slipping)
Gremlins (I give up)

I am by no means a film snob, but Jesus friggin' Christ, am I this far out of the loop? One thing I will say in this list's favor is that it is a REALLY bizarre mix of tastes, and I like that. Where else would you see The Third Man and A bout de souffle on the same list as, well, Speed and Gremlins? Still, it leads to movies getting snubbed that I would have everyone in the world watch, and it also leads to movies making it that I wouldn't touch with a 100-foot pole.

Oh well. I'll be looking forward to the whole 500 being released. I will crack up if one of my movies is 101 lol.

EDIT: Also, Adam gave me a new nickname in the chat today, and I combined it with the old nickname he gave me ... so I am now "Shiggy Lemons." I am pleased with this development.