22.2.07

Remember us--if at all--not as lost/Violent souls...

So, it looks like this thing is going to start updating more often than usual, as for a couple years now it's been a once-or-twice per month thing; now it's more likely to be three or four times per month. Lucky you. Or not, it's your choice, really.

Eight million points for El Laberinto del Fauno. It wasn't what I was expecting, but then, I wasn't really expecting anything considering that I didn't know much about it other than the very basic premise. It was good. Nothing like a dark quasi-faery tale to make a person's day. I especially loved the story of the rose that would grant eternal life. And the scene with the book when the red starts spreading... In any case, I desperately hope it wins all the awards it's been nominated for, because it definitely deserves them. AND they kept it in Spanish, too! They didn't dub it, which made me terribly happy, even though since the film was made in Spain, everybody had the funny accents. But the subtitles were really very accurate, and so. Yeah, I was pleased with that. The music was terrific, too. That lullaby will stick in my mind forever.

Getting my tongue pierced soon. Looking forward to it. It'll probably be Sunday, but it could ostensibly take place sooner than that. Still working on the tattoo art, though...should be done in another week or two, considering that I'm a terrible artist and I really don't want to eff up something that'll be on my body permanently. Once I've had it done and it's reasonably well-healed, I'll post a pic. Maybe. If I feel like it, which I very well may not.

I'm trying to not lose any more weight. I think I'm succeeding, but I'm not altogether sure, since my clothes are so big on me now anyway. I'm still not thrilled about the abrupt weight loss, since I still don't know how it happened and if I lose any more I'll start looking unhealthy. Plus there's the very real possibility that then my curves will start to disappear, and they're one of the few things I like about my body. So, there you have it.

And that's all for now. I'm hungry, so I'm going to dinner.

17.2.07

'Twas night, calm night, the moon was high;/The dead men stood together

I don't think doing 70 in a 45 at night when there are patches of ice on the road is a good idea. But in my defense, I was just really into driving, which I hadn't done in FOREVER, and by forever I mean several weeks, and the music I had playing was really, really good. But more about that later.
I bought Epic Legends of the Magic Sword Kings, which is the sequel to Attack of the Bacon Robots. For those who don't have an incredible memory for piddly details like book titles, Attack of the Bacon Robots (best title EVER!) was/is the first book of compiled Penny Arcade strips. Therefore, by logical reasoning, one can deduce that Epic Legends of the Magic Sword Kings (totally random title, but also pretty good) is, in fact, the SECOND book of compiled Penny Arcade strips. Now, I'm aware that the strips in question are also available for free on the Internet(s), but there is also additional, that is to say bonus, content included between the covers of both books. Plus, I'm a hard copy fanatic.

I had a presentation in Medieval Europe class today, on Charlemagne. It was more of a "lead the class in discussion" type of presentation, but in my mind, that's even worse than a lecture-type presentation, because then you actually have to be interesting enough to get people to both pay attention and respond. At least, though, since it was the first presentation of the year, I'm pretty sure I'll get a decent grade on it. Huzzah for small favours, right? Anyway, it went fairly well--of the six questions that were prepared, we only managed to cover 3, and a bit of the fourth. It's encouraging, really, because it showed/shows that I can be interesting in an intellectual way if need arises.

I had to dress up for it--not dressy, but you know, presentation-y. Is that even a word? I don't really care, because it's late and I'm tired and COLD because the fucking heater still isn't fixed. But that's a digression for another time, and back to the topic at hand. While I'm a fan of cashmere sweaters and comfy pants, I'm not a fan when they're not ideally suited for the weather, i.e., the windchill of seven below zero. Nor am I a fan of wearing pinchy-toed heels for twelve hours straight, most of which was spent either standing up or walking on concrete. Granted, I love wearing heels (improves both height and posture), but not for that long, and not for that long when they're pinchy. I had to wear sneakers afterwards because my normal boots don't have any of the squooshy cushiony stuff in it. I haven't worn those things more than once in the last year. But I (and I daresay even my feet) will recover. Especially since I don't have to do any more presentations. AND in Idiot Maths we're covering methods of determining equations from word problems, which is the only part of any algebraic type of mathematics I have ever done well in. Granted, I still can't solve the damn equations, but since our homework for the next few classes is nothing but writing down the equations, not solving them, I'm set.
Now if only I could learn how to actually SOLVE the equations. But even the most brilliant minds have their limits, and mine, I must say, is far from brilliance. Although, to be honest, it does glow a bit, but I think that's mostly due to unhealthy levels of radiation.

At dinner there was this really good, albeit nasty-looking, dessert. Some kind of rice krispie treat, but with chocolate bits and extra marshmallow. And they were chilled, which made them even better. I had four. I debated smuggling some out of the DC for later, but ultimately decided against it. Now I'm wishing I had taken some with me. They were amazing, eight million points to whoever made them.

It's supposed to snow a few inches tonight, and another few tomorrow; by "a few" I mean two or three inches; not the fifteen we got earlier this week that shut down half the state. The wind was awful, true; and snow days are always nice, but I really feel that Indiana is just not capable of dealing with real winter weather...they're kinda pansies. If you ever have the option, DON'T DRIVE IN INDIANA after it's snowed; few, if any, people here know how to drive on snow and end up crawling at ten mph and fishtailing all over the place. Granted, people here don't know how to drive particularly well in good weather conditions, either.

I have reached my new music phase. In case one of the three people who actually read this is not aware, my tastes tend to cycle, and not only in music. I'll read certain types of books, I'll watch certain movie genres, play certain computer games, etc., etc., forever and ever amen, until I shift over to something else. The shift tends to be rather abrupt and often is completely random. But now that I've finished my likely entirely unnecessary explanation, I'll proceed with the rest of the relevant information. I'd heard a few tracks by a Dutch band over the past few weeks, and liked the sound, but not enough to become a real fan. But as I listen to the music more, I become more drawn to it, and now I'm eagerly anticipating their first official US release in mid-March. It's being released everywhere else then, too; but since I'm not terribly keen on spending $25 for one CD, the US release is rather a big deal. So now I'm excited. Hopefully, their earlier CDs will transfer over, too. Anyway, so now I've moved on from goth-comedy (Voltaire), 20's/30's throwback pop (Christina Aguilera--yeah, yeah, I know. But admit it--her voice is incredible), and Scottish chick rock (KT Tunstall) to Dutch symphonic metal. Go figure. But if you have the chance, listen to 'Jillian' or 'See Who I Am' by Within Temptation. They're fantastic. I'm tempted to start delving into the rest of the semi-obscure-European-symphonic-metal world, but I'm not entirely sure where to go from here. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Actually, any non-black and non-doom metal would be greatly appreciated. Death metal is to be avoided if possible, due to certain difficulties on my part as opposed to dislike of the style itself (which I do, in fact, enjoy).

AND I got hold of both the full DeathNote series and the full Trinity Blood series. While I'm not an anime fan by any stretch of the imagination, I've been told these particular ones are most suited to my...peculiar...tastes. And besides, they were free. And now Bekah probably hates me. But hey, it's not my fault I know people. As to the identity of the people in question...well, a girl needs to have some secrets, right? ^.-

I also, maybe, if it works, get to play American McGee's Alice, which I've been trying to find for several years now. I'm just hoping that the CDs will, in fact, function. If so, then the only games left on my list to acquire in at least some form will be Grim Fandango and Gabriel Knight 1 (aka Sins of the Fathers).

Eight million points to me, for a non-emo entry!

5.2.07

Let us now praise stupid women/who have given us Literature.

Only a couple quick points.

Hung out with Michelle, and had good cake. Eight million points for good cake. And Michelle.

D&D went WAAAAY too long Saturday, but at least the encounter ended, and everybody seemed happy with what they got. I hope they're happy with what they got. They'd better be happy.

On a completely different note, the heat has still not been turned on in my room. My fingers still go numb, I still wear three layers of pajamas to bed while curled up under five pounds of blankets, and I still can't walk barefoot on my floor. This bites. If things don't get better by Wednesday, I'm going to start complaining like mad. Mostly because I'll be really mad.

I got a new book! Bekah bought me 'The Thirteenth Tale,' about which I am terribly excited (ha! no ending a sentence with a preposition! Go me!). It's received rave reviews, and looks quite fascinating. I've been meaning to buy it, but as it's a hardcover book, haven't had sufficient funds to render the acquisition possible. So the fact that I got it via Bekah is really thrilling. Yes, I know I'm a nerd for getting so excited about a book. Books are my passion and my life, pretty much. I'm sure you have an all-consuming passion, too--anime or Halo or football. Mine just happens to be books. So sue me.

Speaking of which (football, not suing), I got to watch the Superbowl with Amy, and I yelled myself hoarse. At one point, there was a group of Bears fans present, and they looked as if they wanted to beat me senseless, so I beat a hasty retreat and then continued to yell and scream at the TV. I get really into games, to the point where sometimes I forget that yelling indoors is rarely acceptable behaviour. But anyway, the point is, THE COLTS WON THE FLIPPING SUPERBOWL!!!! I'm absolutely elated, to the point where, at the end of the game, I grabbed Amy and hugged her and jumped up and down (while hugging her), yelling 'We won! We won!" (while jumping up and down and hugging her).

And I think that's it. 'Night.