weaving memories

I haven't vanished

this_one6@hotmail.com — Sun, 27 Jul 2008 01:20:50 GMT

...but I have been plugging away on two various stories. One is a twist on the Grimm fairy tale "The Frog Prince" which can be read here (I assume it's readable to the general public). The other is a story that came from writing the following "drabble"; I'm planning on having the complete first draft done by the end of the summer or Aug 31. (I've got four-six more chapters so I'm doing pretty well considering.)

In other news...I'm a bit at a loss of where I'm spending my next school/college year. I originally was planning on sharing a suite with my roomate from last year and two friends of hers who I am vaugely aquainted with. But Michelle (my old roommate) didn't have enough money to pay for the room and other two girls dropped out. So I'm stuck with 3 strangers I don't know. While I'm sure that would be an interesting life experience, I never wanted a roommate in the first place. I only got one because I was kicked out of my original single room and didn't have a enough priority to pick a single in the dorm I wanted. It ended up turning out nicely considering how awful some roommates apparently could be, but I'm not keen on having to deal with three strangers at once...

I am still out of date in discussing the wonder that is WALL*E (I love that movie- I've already seen in twice and would definately see in again).

On a loosely related note, I've been trying to watch Disney's "Cinderella" and I find (after a talk with my sister about it), that Cinderella has, from a feminist perspective, almost less control of her situation than Snow White. That is, even though Snow White is sweet, domestic, and gentle, she gets people do what she whats; she beguiles them you might say and makes the situation fit what she expects by being nice about it. (It was a deleted scene that really made me notice it, but I do feel it's in the movie.)
As for Cinderella, so far she's shown an agressive malcontent (is that a word?) toward her situation, yet all she seems to do is tell everyone to get along, put up with it, and hopefully someday her dreams will come true. At least Snow White was willing to make her situation fit to some requirements she had (making the dwarves wash for one and cleaning up a filthy house she entered without permission).

Only other thing I can think of is I'm reading a newly purchased book call Eve: The History of an Idea and it's fascinating (for me), mostly from a feminine perspective. I've always been rather interested in that aspect of Genesis (one of the points of Pullman's His Dark Materials that appealed to me).

Another excellent book I read recently was The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down by Colin Woodard, which I believe I mentioned in my last entry. It discussed three main pirates and Woodes Rogers, who had a hand in waylaying the high piracy age. It was very engaging with many parts that made me think of "One Piece" (which also made me midly suspicious), though the author used very good sources from what I could tell. Now I need to start doing more extensive research into pirates of different periods (anicent Rome) and other geographical areas (China) and the opposite sex (Irish pirate). (It also made me realize that I like the 18th century, especially the beginning and the end.)

And that is all for now.

One Piece: Chapter 506: Roger and Rayleigh

this_one6@hotmail.com — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 12:51:19 GMT

Orginally put "Rogers" in the title; I was thinking of Wooden Rogers from The Republic of Pirates (don't quote me on the title there), which as I read more of I wonder if Eiichiro Oda knew anything about the content. Possibly.

Anyway...I'm on vacation, I have thoughts (lots of them) about the new Disney/Pixar movie WALL*E (yah!!), and a few other life thoughts on various points (pirate book for one), but I'd rather ramble about my feelings and interpretation of the recent One Piece chapter. Mmm...

Well now...the Strawhats finally start learning information. How engaging! I'm not sure how I feel about the whole "Luffy saying the same words Roger did" ie. why Shanks was willing to "bet his right arm" on Luffy for the new era. Though I do believe it makes sense that the ones who form the new era (after Roger, the Golden Age of Piracy...that reminds me of my book) would be people who are actually living.

The bit about Hachi saving Rayleigh (is that how its spelled?) twenty years ago was interesting; it made me more curious about the Arlong's Pirates and even before that before their original captain became a Shichibukai. Mmhm...

For a long time I disliked Law but for some reason I think he might be allright. I'm not sure why...something about "Kuma" coming to get him (and Kidd too who I somewhat like already or at least think is decent though I can't say why) made me think "wait, well, maybe you're not so bad." I think it was, honestly, Law's shock at their being a "Shichibukai" being there. Meh. I think it's not "the" Kuma, mostly because in 505(?) one of the marines asks in a terrified shocked way "He's bringing them" i.e. a lot of those special android-things that Kuma is. So lots of Kumas??? Not sure. Or maybe it really is Kuma...I'm not sure. I'll wait and see...

What else? I think the bit about Roger being ill is fascinating, though it seems as though One Piece has become a mit predictable, unless its was more like foreshadowing. I mean fans have had 10 years to be reading and re-reading the material so perhaps the end conclusion that Roger gave himself in is understandable. Still, it feels as though a lot of the ideas I've read on forums that are the most commonly held seem to be winning out. Also there is still no clear understanding (imo) about why Roger disbanded the crew and gave himself up. It couldn't have been because he was dying (but since he liked "flashy" things and was almost looking forward to death, there's the option Roger did it for the thrill. Oi...-_-...)

Anyway, Crocus left Laboon (I'm assuming) for three years while he sailed with Roger. Then it was too late, so I assume he returned to the Twin Lighthouses. Where he stayed for the next 27 years. Here's how my thoughts are working the timeline out:

50 yrs ago: Captain Yorki and his crew enter the Grandline and leave baby Laboon with Crocus; they promise to return soon
*26 yrs ago: Roger's pirate crew meets Crocus; he's a doctor able to heal Roger; travels with them for 3 years
23 yrs ago: Roger's pirate crew disband
*22 yrs ago: Roger is executed; the Pirate Age starts
20 yrs ago: young Hachi saves Rayleigh; they become friends; Ohara is destroyed (just thought I'd throw that in)

I'd like to expand on the second to last one and the second one (*). For one, I don't believe it's clear when Roger earned the title of "Pirate King"-- did he earn it when he finally went to the Grandline for those three years?? Or was it earlier? And on another note, did Roger say what he did at his execution because there was something he wanted people to explore and find? Or did he say it just to keep himself and his legendary memory alive? Because the last thing Rayleigh says Roger said to him was that he would never die...Now to me that implies that Roger basically wanted to live in infamy or be remembered forever (I can't think of a positive denotation of that concept) so he said the words he did so that people would inspired with his spirit and do what he did. But for me that begs the question, is it the right thing people should be doing? I'm not sure and it makes me think less of Roger though it also makes him more human to me which makes me almost like him more. Contradictory, of course?

That's all for now I think. Perhaps I'll expand my thoughts. Overall it was a good, informative chapter. Ah, and Kizaru has arrived. Mmm... Though I'm sure that'll be interesting as well. *shrug*

One Piece chapter 502: The Tenryuubito Affair

this_one6@hotmail.com — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 16:44:15 GMT

Read here

See others' comments here

WOW!! I'm shaking, it was so intensely raw and amazing. I'm probablly going to have to re-read it. And DAMN, it was EXTREMELY satisfying when Luffy hit that Tenryuubito. I don't think I've ever been more pumped up and delighted for a good-earned bit of violence. I knew Luffy wasn't going to listen to Hachan...:D

On a more literary-related note, I find it paradoxical that the Arlong Arc presented Fishmen as racist bigots, while in this arc Fishmen and even merpeople are completely discriminated against.

There was also something endearing about how Luffy (with Zoro) just "smashed" right into the Human Auction. :D

Still completely worked up!! WOW!!

An Update That Ended Up Having Less to Do with What I Intended

this_one6@hotmail.com — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 16:16:15 GMT

I really should do this... I keep telling myself to update this with my birthday experiences (dolphins and stingrays! Yay!) and the my "return" to Disney World after 6 years.
I use to go to WDW nearly every couple years but then I lost a lot of interest in Disney. Now with their new 2D animated movie coming out next year and as that movie is being directed by "Ron and John" (the directors of Aladdin, Hercules, and The Little Mermaid) I'm a mite excited about it. After that is Rapunzel (hopefully) which I'm really psyched about as Disney hasn't done a fairy tale since 1991 with Beauty and the Beast (which by the way, is an excellent fairy tale, though the elements I found most appealing were never in the Disney version.)

Since I'm distracting myself here, I'm beginning to see some problems in TLM story. Aside from the fact, Hans Christian Anderson was rather cruel to his literary females (freezing to death, waking on metaphorical knives all the time, and having her feet cut off to stop the dancing shoes...), I find the entire motivation for Ariel to become human a bit hierarchically sexist. First Ariel wants to be a part of the human world; she wants to explore it, she it. Then she sees a human male, falls in love, and happily gives up everything so she can woo him. It’s as if Ariel gives up self-autonomy, self-expression to become a voiceless human woman whose only objective to win over a somewhat dull and creepily obsessed prince. C'mon Eric is a little weird with his dream-voice searching?
AH! but then the new musical helps a bit there, since musical!Eric would likely have picked musical!Ariel whether she had a voice are not. They spoke through dancing and it was damn beautiful!

Although, I suppose the most important parts to comment on are the stingrays and dolphins. For my (our) birthday, we got passes to Discovery Cove, a part of Sea World and Busch Gardens; there were stingrays there, in this huge pond. I feed them a few times and they were very nice. Also the dolphin we met (it was more of a meeting them in the water than really swimming with them, except for one portion where you held onto the dolphin and she swam a short distance through the water) was named Kayley. I believe she was still a juvenile...it was quite an experience though I find have no way to explain it, except in hard, cold facts.

Also, Magic Kingdom was delightful and lent itself to some thoughts and revelations that are still stirring. Of course, visiting Disney again now stirred up interesting thoughts, revolving around dreams, the cast members who work there, what Walt even intended (thanks to a new biography I brought that finally supports my personal opinions), old rides/shows, and the children-aspect of the parks. Oh, and talking with Belle, but anyway...

For the moment that is all I believe, until I find better, fluid words to express my thoughts and feelings.

See how cute the cownose stingrays are? (the kind I feed at Discovery Cove)

One Piece Chapter 499: Shabondy Park

this_one6@hotmail.com — Sat, 17 May 2008 11:58:50 GMT

This is probably not the most useful thing to be updating on, nor is it really revelant to many other things, but the story got me worked up enough to yell vocally in outrage and amusement so I think I'll throw out a few of my thoughts. (No pictures; I'm taking it simple.) (though that doesn't mean I won't throw in links!!)

Well, I was very offended and affronted by the Tenryuubito in this chapter. Not only his using one of his slaves (which pisses me off in general) like a pack animal to carry him (GARR!!), he completely disgregards the previous man's wounded state!!! But the topping is when he proclaims(!) that the woman-nurse is to be his 13th wife!!! And she's already engaged to man!! Who the Tenryuubito shots!!! (GAARRH!!)
Then Zoro comes strolling along and I'm all "yays." Of course Zoro actually doesn't do anything 'cause Bonney tackled him, pretending he had been shot in the head. (There was something amusing to me about Zoro's reaction to Bonney--all oh, you're not a brat...and her yelling at him.) It was interesting how everyone was commenting on Zoro's dangerous, strong vibes. Mm, hm.
And then he picked the shot guy (whose fiancee was taken), asking where the hospital was.
I feel this line in the scalantion sums up a feeling I have that I haven't quite pinpointed yet but seems significant (it may have something to do with the fact, for the Strawhats, it's completely true):
Bonney [p.17, panel 8]: Ridiculous...! Whoever heard of a pirate going around helping people? Whoever heard of a thing like that?!

And then there's Shabondy Park, which looks like so much fun~~!! I actually feel bad for the merpeople and fish(people)? not being able to go to the Park--it's as if Disneyland/Disneyworld didn't allow certain people to go into the Park (and I'm thinking of them as children, wanting to have fun but being denied the joy to just do it...and that doesn't seem fair to me.)
Speaking of Disney, reading the chapter (raw and scanlated) makes me hypped about going to Disneyworld in about a week. A lot of rides reminded me of it...especially the dropping-thing (made me think of the Tower of Terror...and I can't relate to Brooke in this...)
Hm, hm...

I wonder what the big business is that's keeping Marine HQ and the government busy... (My first thought was that it had to do with Whitebeard and/or Shanks...)

Claims

this_one6@hotmail.com — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:58:02 GMT

Surprisingly" these are nearly all One Piece related. Though it depends on how one counts them...if it is by the actual claims communities than OP hardly wins, but if it is by actual claims, then yes, OP does beat 12K by 2....mm, hm...(which reminds me--I should ramble about the new FUNImation release)

waiting to see when I get my new "boyfriend" from is_my_boyfriend; I got tired of Zoro...

I've claimed Iceburg, Shandia & Zoro's scar @ op_claims

I've claimed Kouya @ 12kingdomsclaim

Useful place for identifying birds

this_one6@hotmail.com — Wed, 07 May 2008 19:36:49 GMT

It worked for me: http://www.whatbird.com/

Epicureanism & the Anxiety About Death

this_one6@hotmail.com — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 18:15:56 GMT

This is why philosophy is one of the best loves of my life.

Some of the subject matter is a little...not really intense, but its a critical response to Epicurean thought in direct relation to death and the goal (so far as I've learned) about the development of Epicureanism. That is, it talks almost disinterestedly about death and/or dying, and some of the views purported in my writing are not exactly my own, but at the same time, it's a thinking-work in progress. In a way, you may say I am discovering my thoughts and trying to approach them from a clear perspective instead of being blind and making assumptions.

Well, I suppose I should be using this time to work on my final essay in my Woman, Knowledge and Power class but… In Ancient Philosophy we began talking about Epicureanism (after a nice long spiel on Aristotle’s Nicomeaian Ethics and how re-applicable they might be and how differently one might think about them :D). Anywho, the driving factor in Epicureanism was the reawakening of the old Atomist tradition from the Pre-Socratics. Now what was so nice about thinking everything was made of only atoms and the void? No worries, apparently, about death. Peculiarly (to me) death unnerves or ruffles people comfort not so much because it’s a threat to their ability to continue dying-in-life but because there is the fear of judgment. Really to me, a lot of Epicureanism works within a frame where the afterlife is judgmental. If no one’s going to judge your actions (i.e. there is nothing beyond to judge you since something that is fluid through all life would probably not be judgmental because judgment is based on having a view (at least how I see it) and that view creates a narrow perspective so that other culture, viewpoints, opinions, habits, and understanding is seen as judgmentally wrong) than where is the fear in death? If death is just an altered state of being (that very well might be a kind of “dissociation of atoms” but not so literally as you no longer are) then no harm can come from it nor from your actions. But then of course that brings up its own set of troubles—namely that if one is not judged beyond, than who or what is to stop people from doing anything they want, regardless of how terrible or “terrible” it might seem?

I will return to that in a moment (possibly at later date) and for the moment backtrack to Epicureanism and their death-solution. As I said, it involves a reasonable argument that all life is made of atoms (small pieces unable to be split) moving with, among, and through a void space. This leaves the anxious person (around 300 BC and a bit after I believe—I’ve never been good with dates) with a welcoming sigh of relief. Finally, everyone could be at piece because if they are not in death, then they have nothing to fear of death, as they will not be. Religion (myth) turns out to be the problem because not only is it irrational (Epicureanism) and offers no reasonable salve to the death-nervosa, but it only gives a comfort of death (or at least that’s what someone in class said). Instead of worrying about how you act (via religion) one should realize the error of your way – death is not you, so why worry?

Well, I’d worry a bit. My teacher brought up two issues not dealt with in Epicureanism: 1. the act of dying and 2. the regret one feels when you realize you will not be any longer after death. To me, this second one seems particular potent as it was similar to what I was thinking during class, though my thoughts went more along the lines of—if you are not in death (that is, your atoms disassemble), then every moment should count a lot more and there would be anxiety about living because of the fear of dying unexpectedly or prematurely. And thereby, we return to the trouble of ignoring the problem of dying. To stress this, another interesting way of referring to this, is to say that the Epicurean stanch of atomism solves the anxiety and fear of death by taking away the idea of trans-spiritual-migration (when you are alive you are not death, when you are dead, you are not). Therefore no soul exists, which is only a product (supposedly in this context) of unreasonable religion (and myth). But I’m beginning to repeat myself. What was it I wished to say? For one, I see the logic behind saying that religion forms a comfort blanking for those afraid of death, but then I feel this is very interconnected with the fear of suffering in the afterlife (Tartarus or Hell for example, even though Hell did not yet exist—wait, what?). If being death is fearful, then it follows a kind of logic that the fear stems from something in the beyond after death. In that way, Epicureanism does help anxiety over death in a certain way. But as my teacher pointed out, death is not the same as dying. Saying that you have no soul and that you will not be beyond when you are dying (whether this means dying from a terminal illness or the dying-in-life everything does) leads to its own set of anxieties, at least from my viewpoint. Maybe for others Epicureanism resolves most of their fears, but for me it merely creates more. If I will not be beyond what I am right now, then my time spent living (so to speak) will become more anxious for the reason I mentioned above (fear of unexpected, premature death) and anxiety to make every moment count toward your ambition (or final cause as Aristotle would say or your bliss as Joseph Campbell would say). The funny thing is, I would likely want to spent every moment toward actualizing and living my ambition/bliss/final cause, as well as achieving it, regardless of whether I will be beyond death or not. But the idea that I will distinctly not be beyond makes me anxious.

Of course I need to question why? Have I fallen into a self-satisfied habit of comfort with mythology or religion? Well, what does religion or myth means to me, or more specifically how would I define religion and mythology? Religion, from my understanding though nowhere near any kind of technical definition, would be best summed up as the beliefs; associated practices; moral, ethical, and spiritual insights that form the basis or some kind of basis for social and cultural viewpoints of a specific cultural group codified by a founder and/or religious experience that connects said individual and/or group to a realm of reality that is beyond the realm of the visible. I can’t shake the feeling I’m leaving something out, but I’m sure I’ll edit this later and will add the missing parts in. Within this definition of religion, am I using religion as a comfort to death? Possibly, as it seems to be about a connection with a realm beyond. Though interestingly enough religion in my terms seems much more the beyond experience meets social and cultural construction; in this way, it’s a little hard to see religion as a comfort if it’s building block in creating society. Though I will also attest there is a comfort in it, as I said. But then if you take away the realm of reality that is beyond, how is any morality formed? That is, if you follow Epicureanism (as I take it so far) and say religion is only giving false comfort and lies, then what is the lie? That there was an experience that someone had that led them to found the religion? (Jesus and the dove, Mohammad and the voice of God in Gabriel, Moses and the burning bush, Buddha’s enlightenment under the bodhi tree…) All those would be false in some way, because they speak of a comfort that does not and could not logically exist in a world made of atoms. And yet, I can see similarities in between some of them and Epicurean sensibilities, most prominently Buddhism at the moment.

I will expand on this interesting find at later date hopefully and give an extended definition of myth (won’t that be fun?) and how that does or does not create a sense of false/blind comfort or fear around death. At the moment I should be working on one of my upcoming essays.

To end, here are some thoughts I wrote that did not seem to fit anywhere: But anyway, if you have no soul and no one’s going to judge it, why (again) should you be concerned with anything? Prominently you are not (I’m not sure exactly what I mean here) in Epicureanism, or at least you should restrict the pain you suffer. Pleasure is all right as long as its pain is at a low level.

o.O?? (not really an entry)

this_one6@hotmail.com — Sat, 22 Mar 2008 17:14:38 GMT

I retook this.

even though I said I don't read the Bible...

You know the Bible 90%!

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
Create MySpace Quizzes

Sleeping Beauty, Briar Rose, La Belle au Bois dormant, etc.

this_one6@hotmail.com — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 23:42:28 GMT

I was thinking it would be interesting to write an essay about the topic in the title, at least from the consideration of my Theory paper: women as the Other or non-being in a male-dominated society. Especially intriguing considering the comatose state of the women. In particular, Basile's version, Sun, Moon, and Talia seems to be most interesting for this kind of "study". It's just striking how much I could work with the theories I've been learning about.
By the way, the French translates into (which is also intriguing to me) something like "The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood". Mmhm...It would also be interesting as a narrative story.

image link (usage?)

Life from ice?

this_one6@hotmail.com — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 23:22:40 GMT

Did Life Evolve in Ice: fascinating article. Thrills my mind!!

My Disney Birth Movie

this_one6@hotmail.com — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 17:55:07 GMT

'The Black Cauldron'...certainly not known in animated Disney movie lore as being the crowd pleaser and classic like 'The Little Mermaid' or 'Cinderella'. All the same, I have always had a fondness for it, mayhap because I read Lloyd Alexander's Prydain Chronicles where subject material of 'The Black Cauldron' film covers the first two novels, The Book of Three and The Black Cauldron. I absolutely loved the stories, the characters, and "themes" if you want to call it that, but most of all I still remember appreicating the characters. It instilled in me an undeveloped interest/love for Welsh myth. Also it was just a good story about growing up, self-realizations and just lots of good stuff like that.
ANYWAY. Surprise of complete surprises, the Disney version was on television today and I watched practically the whole thing. My thoughts/feelings, which contains spoilers for anyone who has not watched/read The Black Cauldron, can be divided among...

* the music was beautiful! I was really stunned by how nice it was, so much so that I downloaded the soundtrack off iTunes
* the background/scenery also impressed me. The nature scenes were lovely, the Horn King's castle was delightfully creepy, and Morva was nice and swampy. Splendid!
* the cauldron-born were well done, just for the disturbance factor of undead warriors walking around. Oddly the serious tone, blood spurting from the cauldron, and other such things won my approval just for the artistry
* the credits were also lovely style-wise; that is the images were a nice blend between a painting and sketch style. If I find I have a DVD copy of the movie I'll try to take screencaps as the movie seems rather lost to the internet...
* Elionwy is always love in the movie! "Oh dear, I was so hoping for someone to help escape. Oh well." (in response to Taran's mumbling statement that he's not a great warrior but an assistant pig-keeper). I like her because she's sensible enough, though she's oddly supportive of Taran for no good reason that I can see (makes better sense in the books as they both grow up)
* Gurgi was always love(ly). I actually laughed at his "attacking" Fflewddur "Old man...fall down" *starts pushing at Flewddur's side* "Get up, get up" You had to see it.
* I have also always been fond at the sacrific (so it seems to him) that Taran makes by giving up his magic sword for the black cauldron, mostly because he gives up something that is precious to him in exchange for something that is deadly and useless (you can't destroy, only destroy its power by having a living person climb in of their own will and die)
* the Horned King made an excellent and scary villian; I had forgotten how high he rated with Malificent
* and Hen Wen is always adorable (who I originally thought had wings when I read The Black Cauldron before The Book of the Three and didn't understand that an oracle pig didn't have wings...)

and...

* Fflewddur as an old man; that still irks me from the first time I saw the Disney variation. Fflewddur is described quite obviously as a bard with yellow spiky hair and long nose (I'm positive, at least about the hair). Also his harp's magical tendency is never explained but you can probably infer it's purpose
* the scene with the Fair Folk was weird and random, though it sent the foursome (Taran, Elionwy, Fflewddur and Gurgi + Doli as guide) to Morva where the cauldron was. Mostly it's peculiar how Taran decides they have to get the cauldron before the Horned King
* when the Horned King attacks Taran at the end and tries to thrown him (Taran) into the cauldron before being sucked into the cauldron himself (Horned King) I couldn't understand why the cauldron waited to suck the Horned King up before "finishing up". I think it would have worked better to have removed the Horned King by speaking his name (there was something about saying a name in The Book of the Three where the Horned King appears, as I recall Gywdion saying...) (on a side but it was Gywdion from Prydain Chronicles that influenced a gray-haired Aladdin-based character in relation to this Great Magic...yeh......)
* also the part when Gurgi throws himself into the cauldron...more emotion Taran, come on! I just think there could have been better build up to that part...it was important. They could have used the time spent with the extensive escaping scene to umph the emotional impact.

And that is all.

One more thing:
Happy birthday to llieno as I cannot for the life of me think of any kind of gift. You've always been a dear, even if I've been dead online and LJ...

Gender Inquiry

this_one6@hotmail.com — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 14:35:28 GMT

10 Things You Should Never Say to a Women
10 Things You Should Never Say to a Man (link within first article)

Notice the interesting gender assumptions; while both are observational, the man-one seems built around getting out of the questions. The women-one seems to be asking for understanding. It's just...meh. The only thing I found worth reading was the don't ask a women "when she's due" in case she isn't or has already given birth.

That reminds me of a story my mom told me: she was pregnant with me and my sister and she had walked down to some ice cream store to get ice cream (obviously) (at least I think it was). As she was walking pass some house (I believe it was a lady out gardening? no idea really as I was only in the womb), this lady told mom she shouldn't be eating the ice cream, indicating that my mom was overweight. My mom didn't say anything but she almost went back to tell the lady she was pregnant (with twins) so of course she had weight. (If you look at pictures it's prominently only Mom's abdomen that's huge...)

It's all in the name

this_one6@hotmail.com — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 05:33:22 GMT

Read a translation of the most recent 'One Piece' chapter and looked at raw images and I'll say this without spoiling....wow...Brought me make to Baratie which made it all more incredible.
As to the title of the chapter: Strawhat Crew - Pirate Hunter Zoro
It reminded me of how whenever a new member joins (generally) they get a chapter named after them. (eg. Zoro joins, chapter title something like 'The First Person' etc.) Actually according to this system Chopper and Robin have not had their "official" joining. (Usopp just did and Nami did after Arlong Park). ANYWAY, my point is, the title is referencing Zoro as part of the Strawhat crew; I wonder if the others will get such intense death-defying chapters to cement their loyal. We'll see...(I'll see I suppose...)
Yah...bedtime...

And yes, I realize I've been incredibly disconnected from commenting on anything on LJ. I'm hoping to rectify that and I am reading some entries even if I don't comment. Anyway, I wanted to apologize as I know you can't go around ignoring people - it isn't polite.

I think that's all...'night world.

The New Year: 2008

this_one6@hotmail.com — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 23:45:04 GMT

New Year = new style I suppose, though really I just wanted something different and it happens to fit with the new year. While most people might post about the holidays or New Year's/New Year's resolutions or just reminisces about the last year, I'll post some writing instead. ~~Or I will once I post it to my writing journal. Then I'll put up links.~~
love, winter, and white ships docking at a tropical-type island. Let me know if any of the subjects are interesting or anything you notice. Thank you.

So happy holidays, winter season and new year to everyone, since I've been a writing hermit. (which is actually a good thing for the most part)

Random One Piece Fanart

this_one6@hotmail.com — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 01:27:20 GMT

Never thought I'd see the day...

It's just a sketch that I inked over (except the hair which is partly inked, partly colored pencil), but I'm really loving it(subtleties...yes I think so). It was distracting me from finals...

I kept the spine thing (I have no idea what to call those silver round things) just cause I thought it left a cool effect...O.O

A Double One Piece Entry

this_one6@hotmail.com — Sun, 16 Dec 2007 05:09:47 GMT

Shameless gushing therein below (also SPOILERS for those who haven't seen pass arrival at Skypiea or have never heard of Dials)

This was probably the best episode yet. The music was beautiful, the voices were spot on, the interactions were great...and Sanji love! God, he was such a cute moron giving the girls flowers just like in the original. Zoro's voice was pretty sexy but that's unrelated... Usopp and Luffy were great in general interaction. But anyway Sanji was splendid and so was Conis. Yeah! Laura Bailey is excellently wonderful as Conis, definately.
Speaking of Laura Bailey I'm thrilled she is in it just cause I'm a Yu Yu Hakusho fan...which brings up the fun cross-over of Donflamingo "killing" Bellamy...(did I mention this already?)
ANYWAY! Excellent, awesome, amusing, great episode. It was interesting, actually informative and...is it possible to actually see more "evidence" for couplings in a dub than the original? Dunno, but I'm totally getting a Zoro/Nami vibe from the dub...*shrug* But anyway, kudos to Eric Vale - he finally hit me perfect-in-character for Sanji so yay!
And that is all!

Clips
Sanji's expressive dorkiness we all love (I think I might be a Sanji-fangirl OMG!!)
meeting Conis
Luffy and Chopper almost drown and Conis sounds just like Keiko at 00:13 to 00:15!!

~~(two more eps until 'Faith' begins)~~ I was wrong

- - - - - - - -

And below which is mostly unclear rambles and SPOILERS for the most recent OP manga chapter.

Now...manga...it was serious fighting. One of the more envigorating yet...good fights I've read in awhile. I'm not sure, it just struck me as particularly good. And geez...Luffy...idiot, using Gear 2nd and 3rd at the same time... Harumph...I don't like when he does that. Never will, never did. No. Yes, he completely kicks ass but...maaa!!
Basically it was just a good fight chapter but you know what it did? It sort of brought home how kind of...well, Luffy's become so serious when he's fighting. I mean, alright, I know he was serious fighting Croc and Arlong but...he seems to rubbing himself thin more often. Also...the translation makes him seem more conceited than I would expect. Maybe I never realized what a stubborn ass he is. I mean, he's strong, protective, advertureous and silly but man you shouldn't mess with the guy - he'll whip your ass (that was confirmed waaay back in Baratie by the awesome-ness that is Zeff) (speaking of which I read the most interesting fanfic with Zeff in in - see here)
Along with that, it made me wonder more about Luffy's character, more like in terms of literary analysis...what was he representing in the text in regard to Oda-sensei - was there some kind of content.
Aside from that it was just fun to read...also the New World is looking to be nasty...(and Luffy stills seems incredibly...well, something...)
Unrelated but I'm pretty sure when Brooke says "Luffy!" on pg.11 bottom middle panel, it's "Luffy-san!" or that whatever translates into English cause I remember the raw had Chopper saying "Luffy!" and Brooke had something similar but with an extra ending. Yah...
Final thing: OMG!!! I can't wait til the next chapter!! Colorspread + we learn what becomes of the burning, shadowless Strawhats...!!! That really left me going "WHATTTTT!!?!" at the end...blargh..!!

full chapter online

FUNimation One Piece Dub: Episode 151

this_one6@hotmail.com — Sun, 25 Nov 2007 04:56:10 GMT

SPOILERS for episode...though it's mostly voice-ramblings...

Well, well, I was in a strange mood when I watched this. Everyone amused me except the Strawhats. Very strange.
Bellamy getting his ass-whooped was...meh for me. I noticed right away that the impact of Luffy's fist was missing and the blood. Just rewatched the scene, and yep, there was the actual hit impacting. (I don't know if that made sense). Though, oddly it was Luffy's voice (Collen...) that sounded...erm, odd to me. (S)he sounded to loud right before he hit Bellamy. *shrug*
A few notes/thoughts
* Shanks = good voice! Seemed standard at first, but actually good the more he talked. Fits well. Seems natural (actually they all were which was AMAZING)
* Whitebeard = okay I friggin' loved this part. I don't know why. His crew amused me. He sounded actually really good too. That's about all. Seeing him "again" made me wonder on the aftermath of the confrontation b/w him and Shanks.
* Rockstar = he sounded like a....a guy trying to be tough. Amusing. That's all.
* Mihawk = OH MY GOD! I think he ties with Laif for greatest voice of the episode. Excellent.
* Donflamigo = Wheee! I loved his voice. He actually sounded sleek, but very indifferent. Good for him. (Kuma didn't speak). (JUST saw this...Robert McCollum, did Sensui Shinobu...oh wow! ~~I might start having to *heart* him just for that fact. Is that normal?~~ At least it might explain why I thought his voice was splendid vocally regardless of character...)
* Sengoku (man with the goat) = really, really good. Fit him real well.
* R/Laffitte = there was an "R" sound to his name so... *shrug*. Anyway, his voice absolutely won the episode. It fit disturbingly well in my mind so kudos to that.

By the end I got to wondering: what's happened to Ace?
...
My answer to myself. *shrug* Sadly I didn't pay much attention to the names on the screen; I was too busy being amused by everyone. Also Jesus Burgess got a name change that amuses me...G.Zass...get it? I think that's all for now. Episode was pretty good, not much happened; next episode, going to the sky.
It's weird watching it though, as I know what happens with R/Laffitte's request...

It's Snowing!!

this_one6@hotmail.com — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 17:09:23 GMT

First snowfall of the year and it's still going! Happy!! Snow makes me giddy and happy! I love it!! I forgot how much I did. WHEEEE!! Made my day!! Snow!

Fairy Tail: from chapters 54 to 56

this_one6@hotmail.com — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 00:03:09 GMT

I've never done this before but...after months of languishing, I've finally returned to reading 'Fairy Tail'. I highly recommend it - a lot of people claim similarities to 'One Piece' so if you like that, 'Fairy Tail' is a definate must; though the more you read, the less similar they are (IMO). Natsu may seem stereotypically similar to Luffy but they really aren't equal to each other. Maybe I'll elaborate later. ANYWAY!! The reason I'm here at all, is I've read from chapter 54 to chapter 56, ending at here. Mwhahaha! Is it wrong I find Gray's upcoming battle hysterical?? Also *hearts* & kudos to men who'll kick anyone's ass.

Not "major" but really unexpected for me (seemed really out of the blue) - Mirajane and Elfman are apparently siblings. Whoa! And sides from that, that whole not-quite explained and briefly mentioned past scenario really left an impact on me. There was such obvious affection and pain to what happened. I'm not sure if the fact that it wasn't formally explained, other than Elfman's comment that the last time he took the full change/beast king form(?) (no idea what to call that...) he wasn't able to control it and that was why they had lost their younger sister.
...
Just yah, I don't know, it struck me. Also as the chapters were going, I wondered why Mirajane was so concerned about Elfman (also explains how/why Mirajane lost her S-Class status). It didn't make sense until he refered to her as his sister. Wow. Had it been mentioned before? I hadn't thought so... I guess I just like sibling bonds - it seems to rare in manga/books/stories. I mean sibling bonds where there is sincere, protective, real closeness. So that was one reason it struck me.
The other was more of what I kept thinking about during my math test today. I haven't found the right words yet to express this side of it, but it was something like Elfman's attitude toward the whole situation. It was impressive and felt like it put things in perspective. It felt like whether I did excellent on my math test, who cares as long as you had that kind of spirit (that I have not found the right adjective for yet).

I have no idea why I got that from 'Fairy Tail' instead of 'One Piece' but then again, in 'FT' it wasn't so much a "man's dream/ambition" spirit...there was something different about it that really impressed/struck me. Yeeeah...

Lots of waiting and chaos at dinner

this_one6@hotmail.com — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 23:41:12 GMT

Geez, I appreciate how they (the college cafeteria/food department) were trying to have healthy, fresher food but...it took 10 minutes waiting to get in plus another 20 minutes or so to get food and I didn't even wait as long as some people. There were long lines for various foods I don't feel like going into. One that stood out was lobster more because people were eating them nearby where I was sitting. Meh...I'm not big on seafood, and I particularly have an aversion to lobster, especially cooked fully intact lobster. *sob*
ANYWAY, as I watching the various chefs (in their awesome chef hats) I thought: Sanji could totally whip out 50+ healthy, fresh meals and serve everyone much faster on his own. He'd totally own them. (Thinking of G8 arc...one of the best episodes IMHO). And that was that.
Now I need to work some more on my presentation tomorrow. (Stress?! Hah! I'm not even trying to let it get to me, though it might. I just wish I had come up with my topic earlier so I could have had more time to accumulation information *sigh* And I "blame" my English class for that.)

As long as I did Black Beauty

this_one6@hotmail.com — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 00:24:50 GMT

I might as well do Mary Poppins. Not much to say except it was good, more randomly entertaining than the movie, plus Mary Poppins is very vain and "acerbic" as I see it stated most often. She's fierce and sniffs disagreeably at the children very often. Favorite chapters: 'Full Moon', 'John and Barabra's Adventure' (I think), 'Miss Lark's Andrew' and 'The Day Off'. Good story, very provacative in that there seemed lots of understated meaning and points. I want to ask the text questions to see what I can figure out, though there is the very easy answer that the children loved Mary Poppins because of the unexplainable and marvelous things that happened (meeting stars and such, you know) when she was around. And then of course at the end, the letter says "see again" (something like that) in French, so there is the easy assumption Mary Poppins is going to come back when the wind changes again.
Mary Poppin (the character) is best described as the 'Great Expection' (citation unknown as I don't have the book right with me...) Perhaps with update with quote later.

Out of date with this

this_one6@hotmail.com — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 00:14:22 GMT

I saw kamelot_amhran posting about 'Bleach' and I just got kind of...nostalgic about having not posted about 'One Piece' recently. Meh...

Let's see, last time I officially updated was chapter 468, which was bloody awesome but anyway...
How many have I missed? Coming up to about 10... Other thing, is there anything worth telling? Uh...Nami vapped Abs (she thought she beat him but nope, that was the aftermath of Sanji's brutal whoop-ass), OH YEAH, that's important: Kuma (another Shichibukai) appears with new of Blackbeard's replacement of Croc. Mmm, SH versus Odz; Moria's a real nasty guy (attacking Robin after she's fainted from having her shadow cut away, ch. 477). Er...yah, so not much. Sanji was awesome with his new attack, kicking off Odz's attack toward Robin (aforemention sentence). *shrug*. I'm amused by how Nami's the only one who knows Kuma's there. Hehe. Curious to see "Nightmare Luffy" (he's been stuffed with 100 shadows and since he's not a lifeless zombie, the effects/power of the added shadows last for 5 or 10 minutes- don't remember which). And the combo Robin-Nami-Brook-Usopp attack was brilliant. I'm loving the team-combo-attack in this fight. Great stuff. Now it's only Zoro, Usopp and Nami...

On another note, I really should be updating reguarly on the new FUNIdub; no real reason other than I've been meaning to do it. How many have I missed?? 144 to 149 (one more episode before Bellamy gets his face smashed in; 151 - also the episode with Kuma and Donflamigo's first appearance and Mihawk's first appearance without his french accent in English). Hm, I could try to just update every...um...sixth ep?? (144 -150 156- ah~156 is a great ep btw...) This is fun...and mostly random. I probably should go read/work on my presentation/etc. work.
Ahem.

I think that's all. So yeah, still like 'One Piece' even if I haven't been talking about it as much... (I'm really weird...)

tests

this_one6@hotmail.com — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 00:17:50 GMT

Your Score: Vincent Van Gogh

You scored 13% Submission, 31% Kinkyness, and 26% Rationality!

You want a man who is willing to do things for you, isn't too uppity but is still about to feel. Vincent Van Gogh is the man for you. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_Van_Gogh)

Link: The Historical Figure Love Test written by flowersforrozi on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Your Score: Siddhartha Gautama

You two would probably really get along!

Founder of Buddhism "All wrong-doing arises because of mind. If mind is transformed can wrong-doing remain?"

Link: The Religion Founder You Resemble Test written by Stinkbot on OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Quick Little Entry

this_one6@hotmail.com — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 13:07:16 GMT

I just wanted to post some general thoughts - mostly it revolved around morality, crime against humanity, how morality and cultural are not natural as in there is nothing inherent in nature that prescribes anything to moralistic. I will elaborate with examples and reasoning later. For the moment, I finally remembered the basic (components that allow for a healthy biosphere)
These are very "slimmed down"
1. food (nurients to function/survive)
2. clean air (to breath - water for fish though it's still oxygen)
3. removal of waste (any and all kinds)
4. sex and babies (reproduction and continuation of species)
5. space to do all these things (without getting in any other species way)
6. lifespan to complete all of them

From what I concluded, humans only half fulfill some of these; I will elaborate on details later. Thank you.