*scrutinises previous post* Well well well, ye olde Freudian slip...

having a food craving now - just can't decide what food I am crabing for...

in other news, after dragging my feet for two months, have finally put my thesis online for the nice hyperfiction authors who answered my questionnaire - I hope I haven't given them a coronary with the crap masquerading as my thesis. For a laugh, click here. And if it appears to be a missing page - feel free to refresh a dozen times or so, I'm on a crappy free server....

It's confirmed, bad food can give you nightmares - just dreamt of the most unappetizing duck rice I have ever seen.

Is adeline being an ambitious bitch for not being satisfied with a second upper? I mean, I am HAPPY, but it's relief-happy, not hot-damn!-happy. I guess I'm selfish that way, always wanting to be better. But I did get a hot-damn!-happy when my dad finally said "Good!" It's the tone that matters - except I didn't realise it mattered quite so much. *sniff*

Have sent off my application for MOE liao. Really hope I can make it for the July intake, but I dun wanna get my hopes up. Better get my butt in gear and try out for other jobs as well...

Oh yah hor, results coming out tomorrow - feel like not sleeping but scully fall asleep at 9.50 am then how? But kinda happy that my timetable is back on track - sleep at 1 am, wake at 9 am - my internal clock is bloody stubborn about getting 8 hours of sleep, no more no less.

Have been having weirdo dreams lately - very confrontational ones. Or at least I get that feeling when I wake. So much so i dun wanna record it anymore. Gah, my brain is such a stew sometimes...

am recently entertaining myself watching that taiwanese game show called young and daring something...damn funni though. Two groups of three (celebrities) must all go thru a string of game stations (i think 20 or so?). After finishing each station, they gotta catch some innocent by-stander as ask him or her (usually her) the big question: " How many times have you been in love?" (I think the phrasing is accurately: How many boyfriends/girlfriends have you had?). Based on the no, the group gets the skip an equivalent no of stations. I almost spilt my side laughing when one feller said 26 times and the group skipped all the way to the end but had to count backwards and ended up at the station they had already passed. The games at each station is pretty bizzare too (not gross like Fear Factor) but kind of weird nonetheless. Like one where each member had to sit a dizzy-ing amusement park ride, and after the ride, they had to answer a general knowledge question. Kenna tortured untl their faces turned blue. But what makes it is the funni is the sound effects, the emceeing and funni scribbles and subtitles they added to the show. It's like a mix between a variety show, standup comedy (Whose Line is it Anyway?) and manga.

Relatedly (is that a word?) am also watching MVP Qing Ren vcds - i know their plot is kinda transparent with loooong scenes of actors angsting but i'm a sucker for dramas based off manga ever since meteor garden. But can see a bit of Slam Dunk stuff - not only in the plot, but in the backdrop of the drama inself. Funni thing is that while they actually make use of Rukawa's name, it is Sakuragi's pic that get shown often, heheh. Plus this one is actually funni-er than that awful Tou Tou Ai Shang Ni live-drama *shudder*. Of course, I haven't actually read MVP Qing Ren manga so I don't know how the drama mangled it. Ahh~ ignorance is bliss - remember a secondary sch essay topic on that once - never could think up of one scenario where ignorance is bliss - now I have, heh.

Wai! Looks like there's gonna be a Card Captor Sakura sequel in the Weekly Shonen Magazine!

Animenews Network's sumary is:

Cardcaptor Sakura Sequel (2003-05-21 23:30:50)
CLAMP will begin serialization of an apparent sequel to Cardcaptor Sakura in an upcoming issue of Weekly Shonen Magazine. The Manga series is to be named "Tsubasa" ("Wing") and is to feature Li Shaoran as the protagonist.

Trying to imagine Sakura older - in the pic, Syaoran does seem to be more aggressive shonen-type hero, heheh. But Sakura does look a little more err, wimpy? *ducks various weapons of destruction* Syaoran looks like (ack) Ken from Weiss, and his hair is messier. Hmmm, is that a staff he is holding? What happened to the sword? Thank goodness no more green outfit though - won't he look a little funny when he is 13-15 and still dressed like that? Shonen mag, so gotta show a little skin, hahah!

Also saw a small exerpt from Wild Kiss (by author of Hanakimi) - first pic i saw - Wah! Guy Mizuki! Now can believe why a those fellers in HanaKimi got fooled so long - i bet if Mizuki was more fierce, she'd be just like the protagnist from Wild Kiss.

Todae was out the whole 12 hrs - bought tickets at 11am, ate breakfast. Cruised in vain for a new pair of shoes (damn! never realised they cost to left arms) and wandered around everywhere (TM, Century Sq, even Tampines Library) - spent 1 hr standing in the library so i could skim through MacCaffery's Skies of Pern - it's got that same touch that the first series had - would have borrowed the book if it wasn't a hardback. Realised that I have a bad habit of skimming or speed-reading rather than enjoying the story. Settled for a Nora Roberts instead - two short stories. Read the first one in TM's MacDonald's till 4pm and wandered around some more to confirm that my replacement shoes will not be found in this GRC. Popped in to watch Animatrix and came out just in time to meet my friends for dinner. Finally ate that TM's ramen restaurant. Ex but the meal was ok. Watched Reloaded and tom-pang friend's car home.

My feet hurt...my mind is totally blown - next movie i'm gonna catch will be a romantic comedy or a romantic anime. Not a smidgeon of violence or death anywhere. Like finishing the second Nora Roberts story ought to be nice. Ahhh~~~

Ok, now the Matrix thots -

1) Too much fighting - great scenes but i think the Animatrix over-flowed my violence quota for the day and the fight scenes in Reloaded had me cringing

2) But the prolonged fight scene between Neo and the 1001 Smiths did successfully, in my case, communicate that sense of fearfulness Neo may have felt - the futility

3) The Architect speech - quite proud of myself actually - only got lost after two-thirds of the speech - i think some part of my brain swtiched off after he said the word "equation" - Adeline and Maths do not mix

4) Poor widdle Morpheus got lied to - the inevitability of how one of the teams just up and died seems to show the equation running as it should have

5) Hey! That protector of the Oracle is that HK actor! And he turns up in the next movie as well!

6) Persephone - whoa! Another cool chick not to be messed with.

7) Heheh. Neo doing his Superman thing. And his resurrection of the dead thing - wah lau, now the feller can do anything -wonder if the Architect anticipated that?

8) Agent Smith - heck! if Elrond could do that, what do they need the Fellowship for?

9) The Key-maker - cute guy!

10) The Twins - totally wigged me out...but not as much as Animatrix tho'

11) So a mass orgy would send a message to the machines - we are still alive! (and will procreate so more of our kind will rise up and kick your metal butts!)

12) That whole man needing machine, machine needing man thing

Watched the Animatrix todae - it was a horrifying rendition that trapped me enthralled in my seat. While the angles the other stories took was interesting and pretty sad - the Second Renaissance stories delivered the most impact on me. Even now, after seeing 4.45 show and Reloaded after that - the terrified wails (Oh God! Oh God!)of the soldier traped in his unit as the machine sliced it open echoes in my mind. Being the wimp I am, I only heard the scene and a great many scenes in those two first stories. But if ever anyone asks me why I like anime/animation more than real life movies - I'd tell them to watch the Animatrix and then watch The Matrix. The latter moves you with its fluid beauty and dizzying script, but the former terrifies you with vivid imagery and inescapable sounds. The nightmarish world created in The Matrix is brought up close in the Animatrix and you find you cannot turn away (short of leaving the cinema altogether) - The Matrix makes you ponder if you could be like Zion's people, choosing a hellish reality over a paradise of illusion - the Animatrix forces you to admit that you may never make so brave or foolish or choice.

Rambling stuff:

1) The para before refers particularly to the Renaissance stories - in combination with the X-men 2 movie and the X-men fics I've been reading - i am having Magneto-like beliefs about the hopeless insanity that is the human race - gotta go dig out Card captor Sakura and her "Zettai Daijoubu" magic to save me from depression.

2) Irony/Hyperbole in the story where they tried to "convert" the machines - whoa! That one was hard on the eyes - I felt like I was being brainwashed too - pretty scary too - that story made you feel like the machine - confused. And I never knew it was possible to choose to die while in the matrix - did she choose to die or was she driven insane by the idea of being alone with the machine. And it ended with the machine being the one to keep watch - so it lived right?

3) Final Flight of Osiris - is the reason why I never regretted watching the Animatrix - Mondo realistic! Great 3D and emotional. It lent a great animation/real-life tension to both the works. (The student leaping to his death/re-birth too!) Was thrilled to see anime Neo - even if he was a giant blur.

4) Anime Trinity rocks!

5) The detective guy was cool - i like how they ended it abruptly - you kinda get the idea what happend, judging by the stories that preceeded.

6) Renaissance narration was awesome - the mechanical story-telling highlights how the voice does not convey what the words wanted to say - like how one part of the script was "May they both be forgiven" (or something like that) - it is a blatantly emotional phrase but it's emptiness was starkly contrasted to the bloody retaliation by the machine - in fact, it wasn't even retaliation - it was a necessary action, but cruel in it's necessity. And the narration, by blaming both sides equally, makes the audiences recall that not matter how tortured the humans were, their past sins were just as great - in fact greater for their actions were prompted by greed and mindless hatred while the machines were just trying to survive.

7) The parallel between man and machine - they both started out pure.

The Animatrix is exactly the kind of anime i avoid at all costs - its violent, haunting in the worst possible way and depressing - but even in that bitterness there has to be meaning - because i cannot bear to believe that even that world shouldn't exist - it could well possibly exist.

spam spam spam spam spam....


You should be an Aquarius!
Basic Profile:Progressive, original, idealist, altruistic, issue-
oriented, charismatic, up-to-date, visionary,
humanitarian, personable, imaginative,
generous, inspiring, practical, congenial,
casual, open-minded, amiable, inventive, off-
beat, but can be rebellious, eccentric,
thoughtlessness, contrarian, childish, aloof,
uninvolved, obstinate, antisocial,
unconventional, impressionable

~*What is your TRUE Zodica sign?*~
brought to you by Quizilla

He~h? I always felt i was closer to Pisces


Uriel: One of the busiest angels, one of prophecy
and creativity. Concidered to be
represenatative of the sun, and one of the most
beautiful archangels ever. Of course that could
just be vanity...
Which Angel Lays Within You?
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Wai! Kohaku! *digs out Wish manga*


You're A Villian!
You evil person, you. You have a dark side to you.
Your destiny is world destruction/domination.
Just so long as those pesky heros stay out of
your way.
What Type Of Anime Character Are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Hmmm....


You have a mysterious kiss. Your partner never
knows what you're going to come up with next;
this creates great excitement and arousal never
knowing what to expect. And it's sure to end
in a kiss as great as your mystery.

What kind of kiss are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

hahahah!~

mondo weird dream with a unique cast made up of my uni friends, jc friends and secondary sch friends. Funny becaue they were all just hanging together and i had a nagging feeling that something was wrong but i couldn't pin down what. Then there was this librarian-type person who had this black B3 book whick was supposed to be my ECA record (???) and she told me that potential employers or interviewers will ask me about my health - such as are my eyes were affected from looking too long at a 3.4 monitor. What the heck is a 3.4 monitor? But the blur dream me was perfectly happy in the knowledge that she meant my 15" monitor.

So - good dream or bad dream? - I gonna put this one under night mare (no offense to me friends) - but I woke up feeling hot and tired - the kind where you nap in the afternoon without having taken breakfast. Plus the dream has a distinct Twilight Zone feeling - i mean, i saw a faraway secondary school me playing basketball! At least. the dream seem to tell me so...

finally set my internal clock to rights again - now i oni wake up around 4am (better than 1am muchly)

gonna see Matrix Reloaded with friends tomorrow - but before that probaby want to see Animatrix - have given up wishy-washing and decided i'll never forgive myself if i miss it on the big screen. What's a little bias against sci-fi anime and possibly scary and sad scenes eh?

wai! gonna have a chalet in june - anime marathons, gaming and not sleeping - explosive combination guaranteed to result in chronic stoning

still somewhere in the depths of my Rogue/Gambit obsession - never realise comic script was so well-done - i confess this underestimation of eng comics was caused by my dislike of Ubiquitous Manly Stubble in eng comics.

Wow, I thot Rogue and Gambit got some serious angst goin' on, then I read a fan-epic which runs on something like five times that. Mix of good and bad - first time you get a semi-intelligent Remy *ducks tomatoes and eggs* who doesn't spent all the time angsting all over the place (only half the time), but then prolong other charas' *coughScottandRoguecough* unreasonable perspectives. It gets a little old after a while, esp if Rogue's perspective just doesn't change after numerous encounters. Though the whole description on Zero Tolerance was very very very well done. Except it led to even more Rogue/Remy(more Remy) angst. Argh.

Altho i do like the Experiment #713 fic - nice twist to the timeline - unbalancing at first but a nice change.Great internalization. Slightly wistful too.

Wheee!


Fox. You sly thing you.


What Is Your Animagus?
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Numenorean


To which race of Middle Earth do you belong?
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Midnight - You are a deep thinker, always searching
for answers and never quite at home. You are
very contemplative, and enjoy being alone with
your thoughts.


When are you?
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don't mind me, just burrowed into another one of my fandoms, re-burrowed actually...been a long time. Fanfic reading is just like drinking wine. Really. You gotta let the fandom sit for a long time, then you go in after all the good fics have been written. Discovered a veritable goldmine a few days ago and now i'm so drunk, i just wasted at least five days just reading fics...interesting to try grappling with a topsy-turvy version of the stereotype, exploring the feelings and all....each fandom feels different. I'm weird that way.

...choreomania, hmm...maybe spelt with a "K"?

reading Gambit/Rogue fics now...having a mighty headache from the accents.

Marathoning Fruits Basket - actually had a lot of stuff to write about, but the second last ep (Kyo) really tugs at the heart-strings, so me taking a break before the last ep...wah, so saaad!~~~ not overly depressing in an angsty sorta way but it came close with the the Shigure and Hanajima parts of the ep...tho' the Shigure part may foreshadow the manga where Gure-chan's plans may cause him regret later. Dunno how i feel about adding Yuki to the Kyo sc - would definitely change the dynamics so that it may not be the same as the manga - it almost seems like the anime is trying to resolve their differences so that ep 26 is a convincing end. For this reason, probably not second season, me sad....

The emotional aspect was very well handled (esp ep 25) - i dunno if it is because i've been immersed in the series since 6pm yesterday, and probably a week later i'll say it's actually sappy, but for now it's got good impact - even a cynic like me got affected. Especially like how ep 24 ended with the removal of the bracelet and the flashbacks he had. You can really feel the agony in the voices, agonised wailing in the right parts. Definitely has impact.

Seems like every ep is pretty cute and memorable in its own way - but the Momiji episode was really well done (me wanna cry at the end of it, poor Momiji-kun!~), so was the Hatori ep (but mainly i was just ogling in that ep, haha).

As anticipated, the opening theme has grown on me - it's really really suited to the overall theme of seeking salvation/happiness in Fruba. It is a peaceful, slightly bittersweet, hopeful kind of song that is suited to Tohru's personility. It lent Fruba an overall dignified stability that characterises a good anime. BGM was a bit obvious at times. Tho' Momiji and Tohru singing was tops - the harmony strongly reminded me of that Card Captor scene where Sakura's important people appeared one by one.

Kagura is cool - lots of people say she's strong - that didn't come across as well in the manga as it did in the anime

Ayame - I just know his seiyuu is the same one as Hartia's in Sorcerous Stabber Orphen. why? Because he sounds just like Black Tiger aka Shrimp-man! Did expect his voice to be closer to Shigure's rather than so deep...and man, is he loud - like sports commentator kinda LOUD.

Ovther voices not what i expected - Yuki's and Momiji's - but they eventually grew on me...Yuki's really sounds like Kenshin though...too lazy to check the seiyuus....lurve Hatsuharu's voice and the sc with Kisa *raise eyebrows* and kya!! Momiji looks just like in the managa~~!

Gotta take back my words that Fruba is a cute anime - it's kawaii at times, but definitely not a happy one...it is an intensely hopeful one though and that distinguishes this anime for me. Tho it's not to get that hopeful vibe when almost every ep is about Tohru counselling some unfortunate soul - it would be irritating if not for the fact that what she says makes sense, more solid advice thankfully - and not the follow your heart crap or believe in love nonsense -

Keep seeing Tohru in a wise-woman role - evidenced by how one by one all the Juuyunishi come see her about their problems - tho' I believe the last ep is gonna disappoint because it was a rushed ending - no way you end the Akito problem with just one ep. Sincerely hope the reason Shigure gave is not the real reason why they listen to Akito so much - lacks the punch after dragging put the mystery for 11 vols...

finally went to see X2 - wah, pretty dark, ne?
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Spoilers!

Gotta luv Magneto, pretty funni for a bad guy...like the conflicting philosophies going on in the movie - seem like Prof X is taking a more aggressive stance towards the end.

Phoenix Phoenix Phoenix!

Where the hell was Gambit? But then saw his name in the database *swoon* - X3 had better have at least a cameo, grr...

Hmmm, was wondering why the sch didn't seem to have an alarm....

Pretty subtle lurve triangle goin' on....can finally see why Cyke seems a better choice...

damn, i wish i could cool coke up like that too...

interesting interpretation on Kurt's brimstone thingy...

Yay for Mystique for bein' such a cool (and evil) operative...imagine goin' into enemy territory all by yourself and taking out no less than ten armed soldiers...

ack! i know it's in character but have developed a deep irritation against logan's hair - makes him look more of a devil than kurt...

missed any gross violent scenes due to Ade wimping out and covering her eyes...didn't know about the brain juice until my sis told me after the movie - UGH!!!

was waiting for a friend at Bedok's Mac when i saw a cat happily plopped down less than a metre away and started cleaning itself. Which was really educational and all - see, the storm started like a few min ago and already the cat is cleaning its fur, etc...but it was so bloody fastidious that after the cat sashayed away, i felt like throwing up a hairball...ugh

while waiting for my friend, i made up a list of things i have always wanted to do because i'm finally free to do them...it was such a pathetic list i afraid to even up it up...makes me wonder if its true that students like me have jut spent all their time buried in books but neglecting oher aspects of their development...me is a classic case i think.

another super-duper dream - Maki-Tennoji combo! Kakkoi!

actually, all the above is yesterday stuff. Know why? Because Wolverine is such a hottie, he exploded my brains out, and i spent the night scrounging for fics - but then Marvel comics isn't my area of specialisation so i got confused by all the characters. Like some of the the Remy characterisation though, wonder if he'll eventually be in X3. Actually, the movie on 5 is okay. Not sure how i feel wih the merge between the Rogue and Jubilee aspects. Good attention to the relationship aspect, but my other friend was telling me all the spoilers in X2 that i'm not sure i wanna see X2 anymore...plus the Jelly-Man scene was just soooo unbelievably gross

Had the best dream today - it beats even the flying one. Lots of aftershock effect and can almost tell which were the stimuli that may have triggered it.

I know I should be telling you that I'm A rubai - but perhaps some other time. It sounds like work, and anyway, it's late - Unless I sleep, I'll be too tired to rhyme. Besides, there's plates to clear and cups to clink, And when that's done I have to sit and think, Since then it won't be long before I need To sleep again and eat again and drink. What Poetry Form Are You?

Old post which i wanted to keep...

This is a result of another all-nighter and a Slayers relapse. Knowledge of Slayers animes needed. Only Slayers guys applicable in this list.

=========================================================
Best Hair - Valgarv - Complete defiance of the laws of gravity or judicious application of hair gel
Honorable Mentions:
Xellos - for the healthy Pantene shine!
King Philionel - for having such a...errr....unique combination of hair

Best Eyes - Rezo - Enough to imprison 1/7 of the Dark Lord of Dark Lords.
Honourable Mention:
Xellos - closed = genki fruitcake, open = evil akuma

Best Voice - Zelgadiss - shades of Heero Yuy when he says "Omae o korosu."
Honourable Mention: Rezo voiced by the mighty Koyasu Takehito. But the hair! Plus you can't see a thing under that gigantic dress....

Best Nose - Vrumugun - shrines have been built in awe of it! members.tripod.com/~Zarla_S/Vrummy.html
www.angelfire.com/sc/Wint...hrine.html

Best Hips - Zelgadiss - No fight! Just 1 (maybe 2) belt short of a Squall Leonheart!

Best Abs - Valgarv - Sanosuke look-a-like! The pose, the pants...oh, just stick a "Bad" on his back already!

Best Legs - Onna-Xelloss, ohohohoho!

Best Musical Talent - Zelgadiss - singing light-summoning song for Lina and Amelia

Best Cook - Xellos - "Lamb Chaos! One taste is enough to kill a gold dragon!"

Best Shot - Zelgadiss - Six-shooter cowboy Zel!

Best Animal Instinct - Gourry - Also known as "Sensual Intelligence" a la George of the Jungle. He knew before eveyone that Xellos and Filia were not human.

Best Ambition - Halcyform - reviving dead love Rubia. Even world destruction, regaining of sight and finding of cure, can't beat true love! *heart heart*

Best RayBans - Zelgadiss - Lina's Dragon Slave in early Try ep

Best Fight - Valgarv - survives genocide, mutant arm, Xel's pounding on said arm, multiple Dragon Slaves, broken wing, being eaten by a demi-god from another dimension.

Best Luck - Valgarv - refer to Best Fight(above) + growing up in a vase and mace shop, reared by a violent dragon, a bomb-crazy fox and a big goon recently returned from outer space. And if the fanfics are to be believed, eternally puzzled by the urge to pound the stuffings out of the purple-haired fruitcake who visits occasionally. But in spite of everything, he got a Second Chance. Lucky him.

Best Dear-in-Everyone's-Hearts - Last Vestiges of the Water Dragon King (Aqua-oaachan!)

Best Dad Material - Gourry - with King Philionel a close second. But does anyone remember the eyecatch sequence where Gourry is in an apron? Kinomoto Fujitaka!

Best Costume - Xelloss - his clothes are actually part of himself!
Honourable Mention:
Valgarv - who's down to one tattered pair of white pants at the last ep, woohoo!
Zelgadiss - Bunny-chan!

Best Groom - Zangulus - Marrying Martina.

Best Bait - Gourry - good for making dragon cuisine.

Best Anchor - Zelgadiss - see above

Best Jerk-of-the-show - Philbrizo - for his sadistic squishing of the life-force marbles

Best Tragic Hero: Valgarv - seriously...who wasn't moved at the very last ep of Slayers Try?

Best Warped Mentality - Zelgadiss - for actually liking being called an "evil sword-welding sorcerer."

Most Likely to Own a Furby - For the life of me, I can't figure that one out....Maybe Xelloss, if he can get it to say "Sore wa himitsu desu!", and once it opens its eyes, explode with all the destruction of 10 tonnes of C4.

======================================================================

This has been brought to you by the letters "A, N, I, M and E." Mwahahahah!

wah, another long long fic marathon - this time a stunner by Kira and Shell - the Revelations and Genesis series - got a problem with the ending and some developments but that's mainly cos i'm a whining happy-ending sap supporter. Other than that the charas were great, tho' i needed a bit to get over the OC ones. Great fic for showing the story, rather than telling - but takes a bit of effort to read - then again, that is how good fics ought to be, the dont treat the readers like idiots. Ending a bit sad for me. Always stayed away from CLAMP's X manga - i mean, seven-member teams facing off against one another is just asking for casualties. Lovely as the art is and ogle-worthy as the bishonen are, i guess I'm just allergic to sad stuff. Prefer Arashi and Kouri's fic which, i dunno, tend towards happy endings more...

Hung out with sis + friends at Esplanade's open air theatre - nice atmosphere but it was late and kinda boring afterwards because all the shops were closed - am reminded why i dislike going out late nites - late afternoons are okay...