Belated Father's Day

I know you're all probably wondering if I'm capable of writing, thinking or doing anything unrelated to my geeky obsessions. The answer is no... I mean YES. Yes, I can. Don't forget that personality test way back when labeled me as a "Modern, Cool Nerd."

Anyway, I had a very pleasant weekend and got to have a good time with the family. Our plans for Father's Day the weekend before were thwarted in many ways, but we were able to fully make up for them this weekend. Dad got his GPS back from Garmin--or should I say he got a new GPS? Apparently they couldn't figure out what was wrong with it. Anyway, I got up early and went to the 8:00 mass with my parents. The Wiz (that's our nickname for one of the priests at our church) had an awesome sermon, the music selection was good and I got to see some of my friends from choir and catch up on gossip before we left. It was uplifting and the weather was invigorating--sunshiny but not too hot with a nice, cool breeze.

We wanted to go geocaching around the downtown area, so we went to Napoleon's Bakery in Westport for breakfast and we beat the rush and had some awesome croissants. Then we caught a couple caches in Westport before heading toward downtown. We managed to find five caches in all (and I found the first one myself!). It was a lot of fun, especially the last one we did in the Union Hill cemetery. Now, I know you're thinking "Why was the cemetery the most fun?" I'm not that morbid...not really. It was fun because this was a really old cemetery and some of those gravestones are really elaborate and awesome. The coolest part about it was this one grave though that a tree had grown around. The headstone was partially embedded in the tree and there was a knot in the tree higher up that looked like the profile of someone's face. The irony of the whole thing was that the name of person buried there was "Wood." Creepy, huh?

A Novel Beginning

My Devil May Cry obsession continues... And the fact that I just picked up the first Devil May Cry novel on Tuesday doesn't help this addiction any. I just finished reading the book last night, and I have to say that they managed to turn Dante into one angsty devil. Damn. It's sort of a prequel to the prequel game (DMC3) and it explains a lot of things about the games that were always a bit vague. Such as why Dante's guns have the inscription "for Tony Redgrave" on them. The answers weren't at all what I would have expected either.

When I first bought the book I was thinking that I might have to rethink some things in my story depending on what the novel revealed about the DMC-verse, but after finishing it I've decided that I'll keep my own AU version pretty much the same. I may reference a few things, but I like the way I imagine the relationship between Vergil and Dante better than the way it is in the book. Let me rephrase: I like both ways, but I'd rather write it my way. My way or the highway and all...

I almost didn't buy the book at all because when I did my cursory scan/flip through, I couldn't find Dante's name anywhere. I thought, "Oh sure, they just wrote a novel about some new character that we've never seen before in the DMC-verse. How boring is that?" But then I decided to give it a try anyway. I'm glad I did because it turns out the character named "Tony" is Dante after all. He doesn't remember who he really is for most of the book because his father's sword told him to forget his name after his mother died. That's not weird at all. Nope. Not at all. ;) It's really not all that weird if you've played the games. There are quite a few possessed weapons.

All in all, the story was really interesting and it showed some of Dante's vulnerabilities, as well as his unusual code of honor. And boy was it angsty... Dante's got a little bit of the typical superhero "everyone I love gets hurt" syndrome going on. And what's with Vergil? What a freaktard... And a dork. Like no one's going to think Gilver has anything to do with Vergil. "I'll just cut my name in half and switch the halves around. No one will ever know...BWHAHAHAHA..."

Though I think the translation might have had a few issues and I found multiple typos and grammar issues, I really enjoyed the novel and can't wait to read the next one. I wonder where it will take place in the series? I would like to see one that includes Trish...

Parallels

The other day, I was looking at my small collection of figurines, and because I have Devil May Cry on the brain, I looked at the figurine of Julia from Cowboy Bebop and immediately thought of Trish. That got me to thinking and I realized Trish and Julia really are a lot alike--at least visually.

Then I started thinking about Spike and Dante and knew that I had just discovered an eerie parallel I wasn't going to be able to just ignore. Spike and Dante are A LOT alike. They're both unnaturally good fighters with a knack for cheating death and a carefree, sarcastic attitude about life. They also both have an angsty past and an archenemy they're either related to or once had a sibling-esque relationship with. Oh, and their archenemies are both cruel, cold-hearted, have silver hair and wield a katana. Both Dante and Spike feel that their lives won't be complete until they have taken down this archenemy once and for all, though they're likely to lose their own lives in the process.

They both like fast vehicles and lanky blond women with an attitude and a penchant for leather. They love guns. They're both bounty hunters of a sort, though they tend to lose or waste as much money as they make. Neither of them eat a healthy diet, though they both somehow keep their bodies in tip top shape. They both have awesome hair. They're irreverent and flirtatious and say whatever pops into their mind first, even--or perhaps especially--if it will get them into a fight.

And as for the game and anime themselves... They both set trends in their industry and made a lasting impression. Oh, and they both have great soundtracks. Feel free to add any other similarities you might find...

I'm sure the list could go on and on, but I think you get the idea. It's no wonder I like Dante so much considering I had such an obsession for Spike way back when. How did I not make this connection before?

Ginnungagap

Last night was another Scrapped Princess wednesday, and we got to the episode in which they use the Strategic-Class Assault Spell Ginnungagap. We all commented on how they never say that word in the Japanese track and decided to check out the English dub to see if they say it, and they did. And it was really funny. So we listened to it three times.

I decided to look up the meaning of the word today and this is what Wikipedia says:
"In Norse mythology, Ginnungagap ("seeming emptiness" or "gaping gap") was the vast chasm that existed between Niflheim and Muspelheim before creation. To the north of Ginnungagap lay the intense cold of Niflheim, to the south the insufferable heat of Muspelheim. At the beginning of time, the two met in the Ginnungagap; and where the heat met the frost, the frost drops melted and formed the substance eitr, which quickened into life in the form of the giant Ymir, the father of all Frost giants. See his entry for the continuation of the Old Norse story of the Creation."

Now I dare you to say "Ginnungagap" five times fast.

Anime Updates

I've been watching a lot of anime and reading a lot of manga lately. Many of my friends have also been working their way through my collection so I've been talking about a lot of stuff I read or watched a while ago. I thought that, from a journaling perspective I should make note of all these things.

First off, I've been watching a lot of Ouran High School Host Club. As I believe I've mentioned before, the manga series is totally awesome. Unfortunately, beyond the first six episodes, the anime does not live up to the manga. Shivaindis and I were really disappointed at the way they began changing the story line and characters. Host Club is just fine the way it is; it's lighthearted, silly and utterly hilarious. There's no need to turn it into a typical shojo anime with romance and angst. That's not what it is! And why, oh why, do they feel like they must include Renge in every episode? Though I did appreciate her cosplaying as Quon from Rahxephon, Bones seems to be using her as simply a marketing tool for their other series. I used to have a lot of respect for Studio Bones--in fact, I was ecstatic when I found out they would be the ones making Host Club--but I'm quickly losing that respect. I mean, they took Nekozawa out of the beach episode! Come on, people! How can you have that episode without the freaky cat cliff?

Anyway, the next item on the list here is Death Note. As we know, I recently finished reading the manga--which was awesome. A recent phone conversation with lizalou revealed that a live action Death Note movie was in the works in Japan. And there was much squealing. A little research revealed that there are actually two movies on the way, and an anime series to boot! So much Death Note...ahhh...shivers. But, as shivaindis pointed out, just what are they going to make these movies and anime series about? That's a lot of media to fill. Are they going to be connected? Are they going to tell the same story two different ways? And what about L (this is the most important question to me)? If you want to check it out the movie website, click here. It's really a pretty cool website. If you click on the note and click around long enough Light shows up at the desk.

The other thing I've been really into lately is Angel Sanctuary. I know I've already made one post about this series, so I won't go into much detail here except to say that Kira is freakin' awesome and love him...even if he is the king of hell. We all know that he's not really evil anymore anyway... And poor Zaphikel. What a sad story. And Sevothtarte? Yikes. He/she/it is even more of a freak than I thought. Yeah, so when I go to Japan, Kaori Yuki's second artbook will be mine. Oh yes. It will be mine. As well as the Devil May Cry 3 Sound DVD book. There has to be one, and since I have the first two, I have to get the third one. And I want Bereznoff and Beary plushies. I just know they have them over there somewhere! I might even have to buy myself a Death Note, though, as shivaindis said, I'm not sure what I would write in it. Not that it really matters.

Ah, I can't wait to be in Japan again...

The Island

I should have seen it coming. After all, the similarity has already been discussed on some of the Lost forums I used to frequent.

So, last night I had a dream about characters from Lost, but they were on an island from the Myst games. It wasn't an island from a specific game, but it was quite obvious that it was connected because of all the puzzles and contraptions. The only part I remember clearly was Locke working one of the puzzles and getting really frustrated. He was totally obsessed with solving all the puzzles, of course, and started yelling for the island to tell him what to do.

Now they just need to make the game. It's a perfect marriage of two distinct stories, if you ask me.

I'd totally play the Lost game.

Worth a Thousand Words...?

So, I'm searching for pictures of business women on a stock photo site...

Can someone tell me what a pair of female legs in fishnets and spike heels has to do with my search? And why are half of the "business women" wearing shirts with only one button buttoned and their breasts pushed up so far you can nearly see their nipples? What kind of photo search is this? I didn't realize this was this was "StockPorn'r'us."

What a complete waste of my time and energy. Who uses these photos anyway?!