Pleiades Rising

Actually, I remember a better one (which, for some reason, I didn't save): "The speed of the leader determines the pace of the pack." That was one I could agree with. Such fine words from a cookie. Also, I wonder how some of those little aphorisms go down after a meal. Imagine having a business lunch with some potential clients, and you get something like, "Things are not going your way, so look for other avenues for profit!"

Ah, the solemn and esoteric wisdom that only a cookie could hand out. I know I've had some really terrible ones that would make Charlie Brown feel right at home (something like "Everything is against you, but cheer up!"), but I did get some good ones. I think I still have one or two saved, so I'll go dig 'em out. Huh, the only one I saved was the Charlie-Brown fortune: "If it seems the fates are against you today, they probably are." I suspect I saved it because my pessimistic side rejoiced, and it made me all giggly inside. What can I say? Some fortunes seem to be written by angry German nihilists, and that makes me know I'm at home.

You know, I used listen to music while reading/studying. However, I'm no longer sure if can do that anymore, and study at the same time. I find music distracting when I'm trying to concentrate on something involving, say, scientific methodology. However, when I did listen to more music while pouring over some books and notes, I'd pick music that, to me, fit the subject. When reading certain philosophers and philosophies, some music would be better than others, e.g. listening to Eluvium while reading some Logic book. Listening to NIN and reading Nietzsche sure was an experience, but I'm not sure if I'd do that again (my mind can take only so much, before collapsing into a shame spiral). When going over some existentialist theses or something, I'd find music with a dark edge, but not overly loud (Scorn's [i]Evanescence [/i]worked well, I think). Of course, classical music works well with plenty of subjects, too. Lastly, as much as I love metal, I can't listen to it anymore while reading; it really takes me out of my mindset and into another entirely different one. In any event, if I do listen to something, I try and find music with no lyrics at all and with very little bombast. I think better in silence, now.

I'm listening to Suede's last studio album [i]A New Morning[/i] right now. Yes, those glamorous trash haven't equaled their majestic [i]Dog Man Star[/i] from '94, but this is worth listening to now and then. Their sound is very streamlined on this album, almost to the point of completely throwing out the velvet-pants of glam! Still, there's some highlights on it, such as "Obsessions" and "Oceans" (the hidden track). The latter reminds of a depressing beach, for some reason. In other words, they somehow manage to recapture some of their earlier magic featuring elegant wasted nights and gasoline dreams of no future.

Though she's more of an antagonist (for a bit) than an outright villain, I'd have to say Roberta from [i]Black Lagoon[/i]. Why wouldn't I like a maid who can clean up in more ways than one? (I can' remember what song this is from, but I'm reminded of a line: "Six million ways to die; choose one".) I have no idea how she appears in the new OVA ([i]Black Lagoon: Roberta's Blood Trail[/i]), but I suspect she still has her mean streak, perhaps, rivaled only by the Great Revy Herself.

I'm now thinking of watching [i]GitS: SAC 2nd Gig[/i] again. I really liked the second season, even better than the first. I want to see what I get out of it now, since it's been a while since I first watched it. Maybe some things won't go over my head this time around. I'm also wondering why I'm watching [i]Mahoromatic[/i] - and I've only watched the first episode, so far! Will it trap me like [i]Fafner[/i] (which gave me headaches from beginning to end, though it had something going for it at times), or will robot-maids win me over? Don't screw with me, Gainax. Lastly, [i]Mushi-shi[/i] is headed into the home-stretch (I've watched up to ep.19). I really want the soundtrack to this series. I even look forward to the endings of each episode just so I hear what song they close out with.

Congrats to the Netherlands. The end result didn't really surprise me, actually. On to other things. Maradona, cue the smack-talk on behalf of Argentine: "What's the matter Schweinsteiger? Are you nervous?" Haha, that's our Maradona! Of course, the Germans had some things to say as well, such as suggesting that the Argentines are more or less sore losers (quote Lahm: "They are impulsive, temperamental and they don't know how to lose."). This could be the game to look forward to.

[i]Psyence Fiction[/i] by UNKLE. Right now it's playing the epic "Lonely Soul". To me, this song is connected to [i]Ergo Proxy[/i], since I was listening to it in heavy rotation when I was first watching that series. Whenever I hear songs from this album, I think of good ol' [i]angst[/i] and a cute little girl in a bunny suit - with glowing red eyes. Great album to get into a certain mood, I think.

[i]Ergo Proxy[/i]: I think; therefore, I confuse. [i]Read or Die(OVA)[/i]: Librarians have all the fun. [i]Serial Experiments Lain[/i]: Unblinking girl is our god. [i]Fafner[/i]: Children must pilot mecha - again! [i]FlCL[/i]: Fooly Cooly is cooly fooly. [i]Blood: The Last Vampre[/i]: Computing power presented as anime. [i]Spirited Away[/i]: Girl has mystical life experience.

A draw for Brazil and Portugal? I expected more from the Group of Death; for shame death. Yeah, nothin' like watching two teams play for the tie.

Okay, I've added [i]Haibane Renmei[/i] to the lineup. I'm currently on ep.5, and the tone is pretty consistent so far. It's a very quiet and muted little series, but I find it compelling for those reasons. It has a painterly beauty to it (for some reason, some of Van Gogh's works spring to mind, especially his "Starry Night" and "Irises"), and for that reason I'm just drawn to it. It has a certain aesthetic to it, very austere. I hope it maintains that tone throughout the series!

This question is as easy to answer as why is there something rather than nothing, but I'll come up with something. I honestly have no idea what got me into art. All I remember is that I liked drawing ever since I could hold a pencil. As I got older and refined my art, I found more techniques that I could use to get the things out of my head an onto a paper. Now how fascinating is that? Putting down for all to see something that originated in your head? In a way, art is like a language in that it contains "meanings" that are immediately understood by whomever happens to create or observe the piece in question. Of course, there are cases when art can go over someone's head, just are there are cases when a sentence can go over someone's head. However, that's when art-as-language stops "speaking", and instead starts gesturing, singing, screaming, dancing - i.e. it makes us [i]feel.[/i] And that says something interesting to me; when we work with an object of art, we're engaging with it in a way that [i]demands[/i] our full attention. It's this sustained effort to create something new and arresting that captivates me, and keeps me coming back to try new things. Perhaps, what made me start drawing was the fact that I had a talent to speak without language, as it were.

Nah, I never really payed much attention to those rabid fanbases. Actually, when I'm interested in watching an anime, I just ask some trusted friends if they've seen it, and if they have, then I know they'll give me balanced opinions on a given anime. They'll give me the good and the bad, then allow me to make up my mind. So, those hardcore fanbases don't really have any effects on how I choose my anime. Sometimes I don't even seek out an opinion on something I want to watch, but instead I'll do a little search on it's basic storyline and plot. From there, if it seems like it'll interest me, I'll have a go. Like Shin', I enjoy a good night of watching DBZ and its 12 episode long screamfests, regardless of what fandom says or thinks.

Oh man, Engerlund vs. Germania?! Thank you for this gift we are about to receive, oh Lord. It was nice to see Germany win the Group-D, so let's see how far they make it. Also, I want to see man-child Rooney have a meltdown.

The news is in and it says that "France has undone 50 years of values". Sorry, Sartre, but you'd know what hell really is if you had been able to see France play.

I'd have to say Oasis, especially their earlier stuff from [i]Definitely Maybe [/i]and [i](What's The Story) Morning Glory?[/i] I loved those Madchester lads so much that I even had a '90s mod haircut for a while. I'd swagger like they'd swagger. When most other bands around '94 were dressing like lumberjacks and acting like sullen 14 year-old boys, Oasis were trashing hotels like seasoned professionals, along with the likes of Primal Scream and The Verve (their fellow lunatics in arms). To this day, I owe some of my brashness to them (for better or worse). I was mad fer it.

I just finished watching [i]The Fourth Kind[/i] around an hour ago, and now I'm wondering who in the world green-lighted that film. Joblo.com considered it one of the scariest films the reviewer has ever seen. I suspect that moths fluttering against lightbulbs scares this person, as well as accidentally walking through a sliver of a spider's web.