Congratulations on making entry to Behind the Mixer, the main world of Ryu, the aspiring recording engineer.
Age: 19
Location: Illinois, near Kat and Carney, south of Schultzie.
Aliases: Tycho, g4me_h1ro, bloodyshnozz, DERP, ryu6fw
Vertical Status: Pretty up there
Most Associated Color: Brown
Occupation: Driving Pizzas/College Student
Time Consumers: Video Games, anime, racing canoes, music, being an anime club president, traveling
Money Consumers: Video Games, manga, traveling, collecting vinyl records, expanding selection of musical instruments, Pop-tarts and Mountain Dew, conventions
"You were probably the last person I'd expect to be a dumbass." -Katana
"That's OK, I'm not too attached to my beard, despite it being on my face." -Ryu
"Because he is the Tycho, that's why." -Hider
"MUUUUNNNGERRRRRRRR!!" -Old Proverb
"Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else."
Hey everybody.
This is really cool. Play this while you're readin the rest of the post.
I finished up the Gurren Lagann series last week. Here's a very short critique in list format:
Episodes 1-8: Pretty freakin' good. Good characters, and good setup to the main plot of the season.
Episodes 9-15: I always like it when a main character goes into a breakdown, because it always means that he'll pull out of it as an even better person. However, having Kamina die was rather unnecessary, and set a bad tone for the rest of the series.
Episode 16: Waste of time.
Episode 17-22: It's getting just a tad out of hand, but still really cool.
Episode 23-27: Okay, that's just too freakin' epic, in a bad way. Having robots spawn upon themselves based on human willpower and not any physical material, and then jumping around on GALAXIES, using them as weapons, even making big bangs, is just way to much. They could have achieved the same result without escalating it to gargantuan proportions. It's a plot, not sex. Things don't always have to be big.
Anyway...
Thirteen days away until Acen Adventure. I got my L pants and shirt (shirt turned out to be really hard to find...I guess nobody sells plain white longsleeve shirts anymore...) a few days ago. I made contact with an emo friend at school, so she'll be my hookup for makeup. I need to be paler in the face and hands, and have rings around my eyes. Hopefully, I'll be able to manage not frakking it up when I have to put it on my face. We'll see.
I finally took my saxophone in for maintenence for the first time in like, the four years I had it. Hopefully, when I get it back Tuesday, it'll sound like heaven. I've been having problems with sealing the air in it, plus it's dirty like a Tennesee whorehouse, so I can't wait to see it all spanking new. I played my student sax on Friday in jazz band and concert band. That was painful. The rodding for the octave key is always out of whack, and comes out every now and then, so while I'm playing some hard jazz lick I'd have to push it back in. It brings a new kind of excitement to playing, I guess, having your horn fall apart at random times.
My friend played a quick game of DotA the other day. It reminded me of this:
I'm no poet...but this is my piece for the 'Ode to Anime' challenge. I know, the syllable count is pretty variable and kinda messes up the rhythm, but whatever. Hope you enjoy!
I turn on the TV and the screen starts flashing.
I see swords sparking and rivalries clashing.
I see cars turn into robots, who start dashing,
Because that's what happens in anime's imagination.
Bright strobing colors blind my vision.
'To be continued' makes my heart quicken.
I await an unlikely hero to be risen.
Because I know it will happen in Japanimation.
My manga shelves are about to crack.
My friends think that I've gone whack.
I think of Bandai when I hit the sack.
Those fantastic stories will always be my sanction.
I talk to others about my favorite series.
It even takes time away from my studies.
I buy model kits and make mecha copies.
And revel in finished products of fan creation.
The timeless shows have held me since I was a child.
Triumphant characters made my mind go wild.
Symbolic scenes always have me beguiled.
I always smile a little at every series' completion.
"It's the decisions you make when you have no time to make them that define who you are."
The first actual canoe race of the season is today. Going to Burlington, WI to paddle on the Fox river to do a C1 Pursuit Race. Timewise, I'll get my ass kicked. But hopefully, I'll be in the first few heats, so I might finish before too many people pass me up. If so, I'll win money! (it's rare in canoeing.) So, we'll see how that goes. I leave for it in about forty five minutes.
Lol, I'm listening to Frank Zappa's 'Dancin Fool' right now, and I kinda want them to play it at proms across the country.
I've started watching Gurren Lagann to prepare myself for Kastom's outrageous character at Acen. Pretty freakin' good anime. I've long since got passed the part where Kamina no longer applies, and I'm still sucked in. It's really taking away from my FMA watching...and it seems Megavideo has stopped being a douche about their time limits! At least yesterday, anyway. I was able to watch 3-4 episodes on Megavideo without doing any preloading to avoid the time limit, and it still worked. How odd.
Speaking of Acen, I have no progress on my costume. I know that my hair will be dyed and cut appropriately on the week of Acen, but I have yet to get blue pants and a white shirt. I might go out and get the pants either this weekend or next Wednesday/Thursday. As it turns out, I have a hard time finding a plain white longsleeve shirt, or at least from looking at online inventory of retail stores. This might call for a trip to Goodwill if I don't find it while looking for pants. And I'm amused that I'm having trouble on the simplest costume...
mmmmm, coffee....
Back from the race. Placewise, I got fifth, but since it was a pursuit race and I went off in the 4th heat, that isn't the most correct placing in terms of actual time. But anyway, it was a good race, very shallow this year, and it actually split my paddle. Luckily, I was assured that it could be easily fixed with little expense (carbon fiber paddles cost $200 dollars), and I actually had it good compared to others. Other people split both their racing and spare paddle, and somebody actually snapped off the blade. Ouch. Very grueling course, 12 miles, downstream then upstream then downstream then upstream then downstream into the finish. My time was (I think) two hours and four minutes. Probably could have gotten 4th had my paddle not broken on the last upstream, and might have fealt a little bit better had not all of my water siphoned out of the tube. But that's okay, because I won fifty-five dollars! Five of it went to lunch a little later, and the rest is going straight to Schultzie for the hotel room at Acen. Sweet!
Woke up. Went downstairs to find basket with stuff in it. A bunny made out of Reese's and a plastic egg container filled with Reese eggs. Reese Reese Reese's. They're everywhere, get used to it. Also found the newest Prince album available only at Target. That's goin back. It's like the Easter bunny never met me or anything.
Played longest game of DotA evar, totaling up to 58 minutes, while eating Reese extravaganza and Mountain Dew, which I got for free at race yesterday. Still pwned them noobs.
Took a shower, started the download for Megami Tensei Online on PC, then went to Grandma's. To be accurate, I drove (I'm seventeen and only just recently got permit. Never took drivers ed, will only take test for licencse when I turn eighteen.) and my Dad and Mom were the ever-so-helpful passengers. First half of trip went without incident, then they started screaming at me for all the mistakes I was making when I got distracted by being screamed at. I just reminded them of all the shit they pull when they drive, and that shut them up the rest of the way there.
Proceeded to have a very basic Easter. We came, we ate, we loitered, we left. Not even an egg hunt, which I found odd. Very uneventful.
Went back home (didn't drive, didn't want to) where the files for MegaTen were done. Installed, played, mildly amused. It's a healthy change, haven't played an mmorpg since my WoW phase, and it's very different. I'm sure things will pick up once I play more, kinda slow right now, but it has this unique 'Demon-negotiating' element. Plus, it's post-apocolyptic futuristic, which is so nice after playing countless martial art/fantasy mmo's that plague the community now. I'll recommend it more later, when I understand it better.
And with the exception of playing more DotA, that was pretty much my Easter. I must say, it was probably the most uneventful Easter, or possibly even holiday, that I've ever had. I loved it.
My mom made a funny comment today though, on the way to Grandma's, in concern to my L cosplay. She talked to one of the people at our barn (I live on horse farm, by the way, Mom is a trainer) who was a hairdresser, and that apparently will be my contact for dying it black (don't know if she's good for style as well though, never showed mom a picture of L's head). In the truck, she said, "We decided it's okay that you dye your hair black. However, we will not allow tight black pants with fifteen zippers. We draw the line there."
Um...fine by me...
And now, I present the picture that was a result of ShadowLights post on the Watercooler. This thing is so clever...
