From what I've watched of the Kingdom Hearts franchise on Youtube, coupled with the fact I've recently been immersing myself in the Aladdin franchise, the non-canon quality of Kingdom Hearts Agrabah makes me want to scream.

I have no idea which specific game it occurs it, but Sora, Donald and Goofy arrive in Agrabah and mistake Iago for one of the bad guys. All right, I can live with that, since I was expecting Al to jump out and say "He's one of us now..." since Al seemed to have the softest spot for Iago (until the Sultan incident but...). But nope, Jas sees Iago finally when the 3 (Sora, Donald and Goofy) go to the palace and gets mightily pissed to see him. What? Well, yes, all right...so Iago doesn't save Aladdin's life from Abis Mal's thugs in the market place?? *shrug* Okay...but did Jasmine have to thank the 3 for helping Al save Agrabah? Was that necessary? And since I'm discussing it, Linda Larkin's voice really dropped as Jasmine; it's the gentlest, quietest, sweetest I've ever heard it. Wow.

And then there's the matter of the peddler having Jafar's lamp...what? And then they don't even destroy the lamp--they put it into a crypt...no lava, no ground splitting, no Iago being fried and pushing the lamp into the lave (also no Al about to get his head cut off but well...) But if it disregards Disney canon, the fact that no one thinks to destroy Jafar's lamp more permanently is a irresponsible and thoughtless. What do they assume will happen to the lamp? That it will stay safely entombed?

On a side, I'm far from sure this is even what happens in the game, as I have never played it myself; it was merely surprising to see Iago win favor in a completely different way and to hear that Aladdin had help to defeat Jafar and to hear Jas talk like a dainty sweetheart.

On another side, when Aladdin, Abu and the 3 put Jafar's lamp into the crypt, I couldn't help thinking of Mozenrath's gauntlet in "Two to Tangle", where Mozenrath's essence is stuck in Aladdin's body. Only in the episode there was the added bonus of whistles, alarms, and guppies (doberman were out).

And that is all.

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...

( SPOILERS abound, seriously )

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!!)

( see below )

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

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.

 

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

'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 good )
and...
( the bad )
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...

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...)

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.

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...
( can anyone tell what's wrong with it, artistically? )

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

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.
( Chapter 482: Arrival of Dawn )
full chapter online

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!

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.
( And...SPOILERS maybe for chapters )
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...

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.

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...)

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.

( Thought I'd ramble a bit about life, thoughts and such - cut for convenience; feel free to overlook )
I apologize for the ramble if anyone read it; I don't like being a bother (and no I'm not saying that to be wishy-washy humble, I really honestly feel I don't feel I deserve to ramble about my feelings as others do).

On another note: watched Aladdin ep "A Shadow of a Doubt" (not 100% sure on title name); either way the one with Mirage and the shadow obilisk. Good ep, very nice, some of it made more sense, with the mirages and such. Still don't quite understand the ending. Iago: "I'm not entirely sure what just happened, but I think it's a good thing." my thoughts exactly.

(I don't know the # for the 4Kids edited version)

Opening song: wow...English...voice sounded forced 'til halfway, then awesome melody. Went very well. Listened to it again, and now I'm liking it. I think it was just really jarring in English since I'd been listening to 'Hikari E' in Japanese alot the previous night. ;P

Ending song: loved it! I've always love 'Free Will' anyway, but it was was...sounded great, really pretty. I'd totally buy it on a CD (Hell, I've always wanted their Yu Yu Hakusho opening and ending song but...)

Episode: Mmm, good. Funny, easy to listen to, AND achievable plot points, i.e. the plot was presented pretty much the same/an English viewer would get the same basic plot understanding as the Japanese version/subbed. ~aah! I was surprised/impressed with how much they kept it. Also the moments of silence were *beautiful*!! No random talking and pun-comments to fill up space! When no one spoke, no one spoke!! Wheeee (it's sort of sad that that makes me happy, isn't it?)

Voices: Oo, here's the big one. Okay... Chopper: pretty good, a bit higher than I might have expected but managable; Robin: very distant and kinda of...bland...yet I liked it cos it sounded so much like how she was in the beginning, I kept thinking how cool it would be to hear how her VA gets as the story progress; I think I would say she sounded professional, not very emotional or attached, which is kinda of how I imagine Robin was at that time - she hadn't really attached to the crew completely yet (especially if fillers are ignored); Nami: I wasn't expecting to like her from the clip I saw on Youtube (30 sec), but wow! She sounded pretty good, though she's sounds mildly similar to the 4Kids version to me. Just basically good; Sanji: surprisingly...not ear-ripping-off-my-head good...though I'm not sure what that means...takes a bit getting use to...I think it's just strange to have him sound like normal...in English o.O; Zoro: okay, I admit, I wasn't thrilled about Sabat doing the voice since I kind of liked Marc-whatever-his-name-is who did him in the 4Kids dub, but ooohboy, I'm loving Sabat's Zoro voice - he's so gruff...it's like perfect with the Japanese version (also looking forward to his "I don't believe in God" comments in Skypiea! Wheeeee); Luffy: oh my god, Collen my dear, you're doing a splendid job! For some weird reason I'm also digging Luffy's voice -sure he's sound a mit like 4Kids, but he can sound quiet in a believable way, and excited, and such in way that's emotional plausible - oh love! I'm so happy!!
AND...
Usopp: I - love - his - voice so much!! (maybe I bias, since I really liked Hughes...or else it's cause I love Usopp so much...probably both) His voice is bloody brilliant - he's got terror, humor and yet...he sounds like a man...not a manly-man but an obviously male; basically he doesn't sound like a pansy. I'm soooo happy! It's just...excellent job casting here. I actually want to see Sonny Strait do the CP9 arc! The drama! He'll be great. :D

Next time: yes they had one...nothing much to say about except Ace is the next one, which'll really decide things for me. Mm, hm. Looking forward to it. My sister actually wants to know what happens, but I told her to wait. She didn't like that. Ah~ I'm in love!! :D :D :D

Opening 'Toward the Light' (actually doesn't sound too much like Ed. Wow!)

Clip of ending song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0dIf1cwNbc

Officially started college again (year 2). So far nothing major...good food, dinning area has changed, roommate seems nice (I have a roommate this year). Um...*shrug*. I'm excited about my supposedly difficult English class (Intro to Literary Studies). Oh JOY! It includes grammar AND writing AND close reading! Meaning is the statement/words; no intention...whee! I'll probably elaborate later. That's all for now.