Tuesday, August 7, 2007

   This is the end for now...
I've decided that I spend way too much time on-line, and unfortunately to cut back on my time, one of my multiple blogs has to go. You can find me on facebook (PM me for a link to my profile)
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Friday, July 27, 2007

   Done with Harry Potter
Listening to: "Riverdance" - Bill Whelan

Well, I was un-grounded a few days ago on the account of finishing Principles of Real Estate I & II (3 more classes left), and now I'm finished with Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. Hooray! My feelings about the end of the Harry Potter series are similar to what I felt when the Return of the King movie ended. I'm happy to get a closure that I can accept, but sad that this is the end of something that has been a part of my life. I guess with Harry Potter, there are still movies (and I do have The Lord of the Rings on DVD to watch over and over again), but it's not the same. Sorry for the short post, but I don't want to spoil anything and I'm off to bed.

Quote of the day:
"A circle has no beginning." - Luna Lovegood, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (her answer to the wizarding version of the question, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"...it's brilliant)
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Thursday, July 19, 2007

   Abandon all hope, ye who enter here
Listening to: "Bleed It Out" - Linkin Park

I am totally hooked on the Devil May Cry anime. Aside from the fact that Dante is HOT and that I've never played the game, I'm intrigued by the parallels to Dante Alighieri's The Divine Comedy, which I studied a couple years ago. Dante's twin brother is Vergil, named after the Roman poet (Virgil) who accompanies Dante A. in The Inferno. While the poet isn't antagonistic like the game character (although it's debatable whether Vergil truly is a bad guy), he is a sort of twin to Dante A. and is residing in Hell. Trish gets her name from Beatrice, the woman who inspired Dante A.'s courtly love poetry. In The Divine Comedy, Beatrice leads Dante A. to Paradise. Interestingly, in the game, it's Trish who falls for Dante and turns good as a result. You could argue, however, that they both save each other (literally and spiritually). Lucia from DMC2 shares her name with St. Lucy, who acts as a messenger for Beatrice in The Inferno. The real name of Lady from DMC3 is Mary, an allusion to the Virgin Mary, whom Dante A. encounters in The Paradiso.

I've read that the plots and design of the DMC games are influenced by The Divine Comedy, but I think I need to play them to get a good comparison. However, I did notice something that Wikipedia (which allowed me to become interested in in the series instead of just Dante ;p) missed. Dante and Vergil's mother is Eva, a name that resembles Eve. The anime implies that its a sin for humans to mate with demons. While it's not fair to compare Sparda with Satan, there is no doubt that Eve and her sons had the face the consequences of her transgression. Cain and Abel anyone?

You know, I think I'm going to have to do an extensive study on this and show the prof who taught the Dante course. In the meantime, I'll just enjoy the anime, which you must see if you want to see any of the following:
-a smack-down between Trish and Lady
-Dante ordering and eating a strawberry sundae, while being called "kawaii"
-general demon ass-kicking with lots of sarcasm thrown in
-Dante getting bossed around by a little girl who decides to make his office cute and pink (actually I kinda find her annoying)

Quote of the day:
"I'm going to sleep and dream about hot chicks now." - Dante
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Saturday, July 14, 2007

   the emotional range of a teaspoon
Listening to: "(I Just) Died in Your Arms Tonight" - Cutting Crew

I'm super happy today because I got to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (OOP) with my best friend Daphne. I don't get to see her or watch movies in the theater often. It was nice since my day had started off crappily with allergies playing havoc on my nose and my mom going off about how I'm irresponsible. It was the first time in a while that all 5 of us (me, Eric, Daphne, her brother, and her sister) had done something together. We also had dinner at Daphne's house.

Anyway, my thoughts on the movie... Right now, it's tied with The Sorcerer's Stone (SS) as my favorite movie (books still win). The cuts and changed didn't bug me too much maybe because OOP was tedious to read through. I'm not into politics, and Harry's angst got on my nerves, even though I was like that at 15. I was sad that there was no Quidditch and that Tonks didn't have a bigger role. The actress who plays her is gorgeous; I was expecting somebody more punkish and tomboyish. Without spoiling anything, I didn't like their portrayal of Cho Chang. I've always had mixed feelings about her character since her grief is understandable, but her jealousy in the book was annoying and unfair (though Harry wasn't the boyfriend in the world).

What I did like was the little bits of humor inserted into OOP's rather dark plot. Much of it was thanks to Fred and George Weasley, who get loveable after every movie. Can I take both of them home, please? I also *heart* Luna Lovegood. The actress was great being insightful yet slightly mental. Umbridge's actress was fantastic. She completely disgusted me, which means that she did her job at making Umbridge a horrible woman. I so wanted McGonagall to lay the smackdown on Umbridge (she looked like she was about to). Speaking of fighting, it was nice to see Hermoine's rebellious side come out. Emma Watson appears to be enjoying those moments. I love how we're watching these actors grow up and, at least for me, grow up with them. Sometimes they appear awkward on-screen (e.g. Neville's actor), but I think it makes the characters more realistic and endearing.

Oh yeah, they showed previews for Stardust, which I really want to see because I love Neil Gaiman (who wrote the novel it's based off of). I also want to see Enchanted, which appears to be Disney parodying their own movies by having a princess appear in our world. Before I go, you're probably wondering where my subject line came from. It's Hermoine's description of Ron.

Quote of the day:
"You may not like him, Minister, but you have to admit, Dumbledore's got style." - Kingsley Shacklebolt
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Saturday, July 7, 2007

   Happy NANA Day!
Listening to: "Isolation" - Nana starring Mika Nakashima

Sorry for not updating sooner, but the jet lag and catching up is killing me. Anyway, if you wanna hear about my trip to Japan and Taiwan, tune into my travelogue (see link from previous post).

Today, 7/7/07, is International NANA Day. I was going to celebrate by cosplaying, but like I said, I'm tired and have other, more important things to do. However, the day isn't over yet. ^_^

Quote of the day:
"You know, Hachi, when I'm embraced by the sea breeze, the sound of waves has such a sweet allure. But, I cannot throw away this life that you saved." - Nana Osaki
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