Harry Potter Hysteria

I have held off my excitement for Harry Potter, mostly because I have been busy with SCA stuff, but now that it is almost July I can hardly wait!

Has anyone seen the boxed set that you can get? I would almost get it just for the box!

I am in a bit of a state about the last book since I will be at an event and won't have time to start reading like the rest of the world. I also haven't pre-ordered a copy yet and I can't decide if I should or not. Its not like you won't be able to find one. When the last book came out they were sold everywhere. If I don't pre-order it, I will be stopping somewhere on the way home to get a copy. Or sending one of the minions out to buy one.

Mad Dogs

Mad Dogs was this weekend and it was a lot of fun. Thanks to everyone who made it so!

The morning was much cooler than I had anticipated so I wore my new viking dress instead of the peplos. It looked really nice with the new jewelry Caillie gave me. Thanks Caillie!!!

We left home about 8 and got to site around 9. Most people were just getting up when we got there. After the squires got the royal presence set up we all just visited until the fencers decided it was time to start fencing.

The sun came out just in time for everyone to start fighting and it became hot very quickly. Luckily Medb had made a bunch of neck coolers. You wouldn't think that a little cooling band around your neck would help lessen the heat but it really works!

In the afternoon, Meagan dyed some cloth for me in the indigo dye. The cloth turned out like a blue sky with wispy clouds. Now I have to decided what I am going to make with it. The rest of the afternoon was spent enjoying Lynnette's cookies and visiting.

Around three we had a battlefield court for our Fighters getting awards and then not long after that we held the rest of court.

This was our first regency court and most of the retainers were court newbies like us but we didn't have too many problems and it was fun giving out awards to people we know. I think most people who got awards were quite surprised.

In the evening we had feast and it was. There was a ton of food. It just kept coming and it was all so tasty. After that we sat around and visited until we decided to head home.
In all and all a fun little event. Next up a big huge event, WW.

My online photos

Hey All,
I recently moved all my online pictures to Flickr. You can check them out at http://www.flickr.com/photos/blancmange/

Welcome to the new site

Welcome to the new site. Blog-city was good to me but it is time to move one. So here I am at blogger. Let the blogging continue.

Movies

Here is a list of movies I have watched. For simplicity sake I am using Netflix star rating. Makes life easier for me.

2007

2008

2009

January

The Visitor ****
P.S. I Love You **1/2
Nana 2 ***
Inkheart ***

February

Pizza **1/2
Smart People *
House Bunny *
Nick and Nora's Infinite Playlist **1/2
Slumdog Millionaire ****
Man on Wire ***
Vicki Christina Barcelona **1/2
Holy Smoke **

March

21***
Redbelt ***1/2
The Reader ****
The Savages **1/2
There will be blood **
Milk ****
Appaloosa ****
Watchmen ***1/2
Delta Farce **1/2
Bottle Shock ***
Better than Sex **1/2
RocknRolla ***
Australia ***

April

Origin **
Fast and Furious **1/2
The Fast and the Furious **1/2
The Rocker ****
Death Race ****

May

Wolverine **1/2
Lost in Austen **1/2
August Rush **
Star Trek *****
Night at the Muesum 2 ***
Quantum of solace ***
Hideous Kinky **
UP *****
Love in the time of Cholera **

June
Underworld 3 ***
How about You ***
The Hangover ***1/2
Henry Poole is Here ***
Tale of Despareaux **1/2
The December Boys **

July
The Ramen Girl **1/2
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button **1/2
Public Enimies **
I hate Valentines Day **1/2
Man of La Mancha ****
The Wrestler ***
Coraline ***
Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince ****
Swing Vote **

August

I love you, man ***
Inglorious Bastards ***1/2
Next ****
The Children of Huang Shi **

September

The boy in the Stripped Pajamas **1/2
Surrogate ***
Cadillac Records **1/2
Taken ****
Away we go ***

October

Valkyrie **
Zombieland ***
Rumor Has it **
Paul Blart Mall Cop **1/2
Monsters vs. Aliens ***
This is it ***

November

Where The Wild Things Are **
That Hamilton Woman ***

Manga Reads

Here is my list of manga I have read. I am still working on this list. I know there are some titles I have read and can't remember them. I will be posting my thoughts about each one eventually. (own)=I own it. (loan)=I borrowed it from someone. Most likely Nailz or Clare.

Absolute Boyfriend (own) v.1-5
Ai Yori Aoshi (own) v.1-17 (finished series)
Alice 19th (own) v. 1-7 (finished series)
Angel Sanctuary (loan) v.1-4
Antique Bakery (loan) v. 1-4 (finished series)
Beautiful People (loan)
Bizenghast (loan) v. 1-2
Bleach (own) v. 1-21
Cafe Kichijouji (loan) v. 1-3
Ceres (own) v.1-14 (finished series)
Chobits (loan) v. 1-3, 8 Actually I can't remember how many volumes I have read of this.
Chrono Crusade (own) v.1-8 (finished series)
Comic Party (loan) v. 1-4
Cromartie High School (loan) v.1-2
Densha Otoko (loan) v. 1-3 (finished series)
D. N. Angel (loan) v. 1-2
Death Note (loan) v. 1-3
Descendents of Darkness (own) v. 1-2
Doubt (loan) v. 1-6 (finished series)
Duck Prince (loan) v. 1-3
Eerie Queerie (loan) v.1-4 (finished series)
Excel Saga v. 1-5
Fake (loan) v.1-7 (finished series)
Flowers & Bees (loan) v.1-7 (finished series)
Forbidden Dance (loan) v.1-4 (finished series)
Fruits Basket (loan) 1-17
Full Metal Alchemist (own) v. 1-14
Fushigi Yugi (own) v. 1-18 (finished series)
Fushigi Yugi Genbu Kaiden (own) v.1-7
Get Backers (loan) v.1-2, 3?
Genshiken (loan) v. 1-7
Goong (loan) v.1
Gravitation (loan) v.1-12
Gunslinger Girl (loan) v. 1-2
Hana Kimi (loan) v. 1-23 (finished series)
Hands Off (loan) v. 1-8 (finished series)
Happy Hustle High (loan) v. 1-5 (finished series)
Happy Mania (loan) v. 1-11 (finished series)
Hikaru no Go (loan) v. 1
Hot Gimmick (own) v. 1-12 (finished series)
Imadoki (own) v.1-5 (finished series)
Kagetora (own) v.1-3
Kurogane (own) v.1
Kamikaze Girls
Legal Drug (loan) v. 1-4
Legend of Chun Huang
Love or Money (loan) v. 1-5 (finished series)
Loveless (loan) v. 1-5
Mars (loan) v.1-16 (finished series)
Meru Puri (own) v. 1-4 (finished series)
Nana (own) v.1-14
Naurto (loan) v. 1-5
Nodame Cantable (own) v. 1-6
Neck and Neck (loan) v. 1-7
Ouran High School Host Club (loan) v. 1-8
Otogi Zoshi (loan) v.1
Paradise Kiss (own) v.1-5 (finished series)
Passion (loan) v.1-2
Penguin Revolution (loan) v.1-4
Princess Princess (loan) v. 1-3
Princess Tutu (own) v.1-2 (finished series)
Rahxephon 1-3 (finished series)
Read or Die (own) v. 1-4 (finished series)
Read or Dream (own) v. 1-4 (finished series)
Red River (own) v. 1-4
Rurouni Kenshin (own) v. 1-28 (finished series)
Saikano v. 1-7 (finished series)
Scrapped Princess (own) v. 1-3 (finished series)
Saiyuki (loan) v. 1, 4, 8-9
Samurai Deeper Kyo (loan) v. 1
Shaman King (own) v. 1-10
The Devil does Exist (loan) v. 1-11 (finished series)
Toyko Boys and Girls (loan) v. 1-5 (finished Series)
Tramps Like Us (loan) v. 1-13
Threads of Time (loan) v.1-3
Trigun v.1
Tsubasa (loan) v. 1-12
Vampire Game v. 1-3
Wallflower (loan) v.1-13
XXXholic (own) v. 1-10
Yellow (loan) v. 1-4
Your and My Secret (loan) v.1
Yubisaki Milk Tea (loan) v.1

Anime List

I decided I should make a list of the Anime I have watched. I haven't listed anything that I have seen a few episodes of.

Series Watched:

2007

Shaman King: SK is a good show with fun characters but since it isn't on TV anymore I have stopped watching it. I am never too excited about tournament shows. They tend to go on and on and never go anywhere. I am still reading the manga however and I feel it is better than the show.

Loveless *** Its not overly great. I would have to say if you are interested in this series at all to read the manga. The anime is more of a intro to the story and never really goes too far but what can you expect from 12 episodes.

Princess Tutu ***** PT is about a duck who falls in love with a prince so the maniacal Drosselmeyer gives her a pendant so she can become a girl and Princess Tutu. Princess Tutu has the power to restore the prince's heart. The prince shattered his heart in order to seal away the evil raven. The story is kind of your typical magic girl show but there are several twists that I wasn't expecting. I loved the story within a story, the fairytale aspects and all the wonderful music. I have never been a ballet fan but I think I might go sometime just because of this show. You know it is good when you get all worked up and worried about the heroes and wish you could drop kick the villain into the next country. Gah I am still mad at Drosselmeyer! Such things he says. It makes me so mad!

PT is such a great show and oh what an ending. Its one of those shows that is deep and always leaves me with a sad feeling that is over but a happy feeling too. Do you know what I mean? Definitely a show that deserves repeat viewings. I could go on and on about this show but I don't want to spoil it for any of you who haven't seen it. Go check it out!

Paradise Kiss*** ParaKiss is about a young girl who has no idea what she wants until she meets a group of fashion students and falls in love with not so easy to love designer George. The anime is good but I think I prefer the manga. The show seemed a bit rushed and at first I really didn't like it but then I watched it in Japanese and it was much better.

Trinity Blood *** Trinity Blood is set in the future where Vampires and Humans are at war. The human realm is ruled by the vatican. I am not sure I really liked this show but it wasn't horrible either. It has a slow start but there are some good action scenes and if you are into political dramas then you might like it. There is definitally a lot of story that doesn't get told in the anime. Maybe its in the manga. If I was curious I would check it out but I don't think I will.

Super Gals **** Fifty some episodes of shopping, GL Guy chasing, ramen eating, criminal chasing action. Super Gals is a lot of fun but it does tend to get repeative. It doesn't really matter because the plot for the series is nothing but fluff. The biggest problems they face are boyfriend/girlfriend stuff and who is going to pay for snacks. (everyone is always broke except for Yuya). If you like silly shows about high school kids having fun then check this out. My favorite things in this series are the boomerang high heeled boot attacks, Odiaba Cop and the Junior Detectives! Datchu!

Boys Be *** I caught the first three episode of this show at Anime Detour 2007 and thought it was worth watching This light fluffy show about boy/girl relationships is pretty funny. Typical high school romance show except that most of the stories is told from a male perspective. It would be a typical shojo except there are way too many panty shots for that. Its enjoyable if you are looking for some light entertainment. I think if it had gone on longer than 13 episodes it might have been a bore.

Eureka 7 ***** When I first started watching Eureka 7 I quickly became uninterested in the whole mecha thing and I think I really didn't get it. I gave up on it for awhile but then picked it back up again and I am glad I did. This show has a lot of dept, heart and enjoyable despite some dark story lines. I highly recommend this show even if you don't like mecha. It is a little slow to start with but once the story gets rolling you can't help but be sucked in.

This Ugly and yet Beautiful World ** This is a very weird little show. I probably would have stopped watching it except it is only 12 episodes. This is one of those end of the world type shows with cute girls. I can't recommend it.

My Hime **1/2 This show is an interesting girl/princess with powers show. The fighting is good but I can't overly recommend it since the story line is moderately lame. It probably didn't help that I watched the last 3 episodes about 4 months after watching the rest of the series.

Ergo Proxy ***1/2 Its hard to say how I feel about this show since I watched it over a long period of time. On the whole it is good. All about identity and where you fit into society. It wasn't as mysterious as I thought it was going to be and the ended is a nice surprise.

2008

Blood + **1/2 Much better than the movie but it moves pretty slow. I got bored and only marginally kept up with it. Vampire mutants usual stuff.

Beck *** I enjoyed this show but didn't really get into it as some other anime shows. Don't know what it is. Probably the pete and repeat of songs and not really getting to hear the whole thing occasionally drove me nuts. What was nice tho it was the realistic development of the band and people's relationships. Not really sure that the stolen guitar storyline was necessary but on the whole its worth watching.

Black Lagoon **** Kick ass shoot em up show. Enjoyed it a lot.

Full Metal Panic ** I don't understand the appeal of this show. Aside from the cute guys, I found it boring. Second series even more so. snore city.

Revolutionary Girl Utena **1/2 Okay show. Kind of interesting ideas but it could be a lot shorter if they cut out all the repetitiveness.

Utawarerumono *** I liked the characters but the story is rather weird. Considering its source its not a bad show.

Story of Saiunkoku ***** I haven't finished watching this show but I love it. Love love.

Emma *** This is the anime equivalent of arranging matches. Very slow moving but had to watch it all to see how it ends. I wonder if the manga would be better.

Tsubasa * I love the manga but can't really stand to watch the anime. Not sure why. Dull for some reason.

Kyo Kara Maoh**** Strange little show that I loved. Its gets drawn out at the end but still good. I hear there is a third series but it sounds like filler to me. I think I am going not watch any more.

Bleach*** Anime is good but the manga is better. Kind of lost interst in the show and manga but worth watching if you like action.

Le Chevalier D'Eon

2009

Watching:

Hung it up or watching it occasionally

Tenhjo Tenge probably never get to see the end of these shows since they are hung up in limbo. TT was just getting good too. Bummer

Naruto: I had such high hopes for this show. Everyone I know who watches anime was totally engrossed by it. Me, not so much. I like it but I don't think I have the staying power to watch tons of filler episodes considering the main storyline shows move so slow. Maybe someday I will borrow Clare's DVDs and have a supersize marathon. Until then I will occasionally watch it on CN. Update: I am back to watching this. The action has gotten kicked up but they are still talky talky too much. I have this sneaking suspision that Naruto will never end just go on and on. At least I don't have to worry about missing episodes. The story moves along so slow you can miss a couple and still have a good idea what is going on. I like this show but do the writers know anything about pacing??? come on.