goodness, humor, manfolk

Say it: Peanut butter cup. See? Magical.

Yesterday I worked at the dojo, came home, ate ramen, biked to and taught at the park, biked home, jumped in the shower and immediately had a hankering for a Reeses peanut butter cup. I’ve been craving those recently, so I bought some at the store. But there I was, trapped in the shower, picturing them trapped in my kitchen cabinet, both of us yearning for the other.

So naturally I whined until Boyfriend came in to see what all the fuss was about. I asked him to get me a Reeses, and he shot me one of those, “C’mon… seriously?” looks. I gave him my best adorably huge smile. He rolled his eyes and headed for the kitchen. I lathered up my hair, and a short while later, Boyfriend came back with a “Look what IIIIIII goooooot!” Was it a Reeses? No. It was a cat. My neighbor’s cat. And it was not happy about being in the bathroom. Her pupils were huge. She looked like she was going to shed all her hair at once at the stress of being kidnapped by a strange man and taken into a hot, steamy room, only to encounter a dripping wet lady who then laughed, then stupidly reached out to pet her. She squirmed until my boyfriend, who was having already trouble hanging on to her, took off running out of the bathroom to let her back onto the patio, and get me my damn peanut butter cup.

He came back and reluctantly fed it to me, all the while saying, “I gotta go, I’m IMing someone about work!” I giggled and took another bite while he tried to shove the rest of it into my mouth.

We ate at Johnny Rockets while our friends (who apparently have horrible taste in restaurants) ate at Kabuki before we met at the theater upstairs to see the seventh Harry Potter movie (part I). Super depressing, but good. I need a wand.

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anime, badness, goodness

Slow death by filler episode

Here’s the problem with anime: filler. Filler episodes are what a good 80% of most anime TV series consist of. This is nowhere better demonstrated than in Dragonball Z, when whole episodes would be dedicated to someone try to fly to a location on the other side of a very small planet where a battle was going on. This “battle” consisted of only two people, who also spent a good two or three episodes “charging up,” or gathering energy for the (supposedly) ensuing battle.

The direct result of said filler episodes is that out of all the random Dragonball Z episodes I’ve managed to catch on Cartoon Network from my childhood up to now, I’ve never actually seen a battle. Such is the power of the filler.

Naruto Shippuden is also full of this crap. So when the last story arc ended, I was crushed. I would imagine I have some idea of what it must be like to watch my child excel in college, happily date, get straight A’s, and participate in multiple clubs and sports, only to return home after graduation, a single, ambitionless, unemployed, lumpy leftover person. That’s what I’m watching now. Leftovers of a superior series. Buh. Get it over with already. I wanna see Naruto and Hinata interact ONCE after everything went down (go Hinata! I QQd like a baby).

BUT NO, instead I’m stuck watching a talking ostrich reminisce to his kids about this one time Naruto was a jerk. No, wait, it’s not just any ostrich, that would be dumb. We’re dealing with a ninja ostrich. That’ll make it worth watching, right? [/scratches eyes out]

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goodness, life, manfolk

The art of the slow-dance

I like slow-dancing, but I hate dancing to love songs. It seems trite, and I don’t like being told what to feel about the person in my arms. But I love to dance to good, slow songs like Norah Jones’ The Long Day is Over. It’s one of my all-time favorite songs.

The Long Day Is Over by Norah Jones

Slow-dancing to a song like this is the physical equivalent to making promises of love; to commit, to watch and listen carefully, to touch tenderly and thoroughly, to choose that dance partner over all others in some way. Bearing in mind that I haven’t slow-danced since high school (Winter Formal 2001!), I find it so easy to make these kind of promises because at my core, I’m just a big softie. I’m a romantic. And it kills me that no one knows this.

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goodness, humor

May I introduce Beastlie #4: Nokie

I don’t buy a lot of Beastlies. It has to be a case of love at first sight. Such was the case with the newest edition to my little monster family, Nokie.

If my childhood self was reincarnated into a tiny clay monster, this is what it would look like. I was a little crazy, very happy, and totally uncontainable. I particularly like the little almost-heart shaped spots on his back, and messy teeth. What a gem. He is a carefree, tiny me, and for that, he earns a permanent spot under my computer monitor. He is my little treasure, and he seems to know it.

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goodness, humor, life

Kids are amazing

So… kids are amazing. This is the best thing I’ve seen all fucking day. Week. Whatever, it’s been a rough fucking month with everything that’s been going on, so I needed a bunch of kids pulling a harmless miracle of a prank on an opposing team to make me smile. And smile I did 🙂

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goodness

Kinda diggin’ the music…

I just (almost) got caught up with Naruto Shippuden, and remembered this opening credits song.

Hearts Grow – Yura Yura .mp3
http://beemp3.com/player/player.swf
Found at bee mp3 search engine

The credits themselves are pretty great too. There’s another one called Hero’s Comeback that I really like too. Wish there was a website where I could buy international music.

There are a bunch of songs right now that have their hooks in me.
Linkin Park- Waiting for the end
One Republic- Secrets
John Mayer- Heartbreak Warfare

Music is weird like that. I’ll go months without hearing anything that catches my ear, then one day I turn on the radio and life makes sense.

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anime, goodness, humor, manfolk

The fetish surfaces

So… this is embarrassing to admit, but there have been several times when I have the feeling that if a cartoon character were to come to life, I would totally hit on him. I’m not talking about a common cartoon crush or whatever. I mean… crap, what do I mean…?
It must be the whole package I’m drawn to; the environment the character is in, the simplicity of the rules, and so on. No homeless people, no menstruating, no bad haircuts, none of that crap. This must be what it’s like to have a crush on a celebrity after watching a movie.
And so, without further ado, before I blush myself into oblivion, my list of cartoon dudes I would seduce the shit out of were I given two dimensions of a chance (and the show/movie they’re featured in):

Hatake Kakashi (Naruto)- I’ll never be cool enough for this guy. Boys and girls all over Japan agree: Kakashi is the coolest. Also, a pervert.

Vash the Stampede (Trigun)- Vash is so broken and innocent. I want to take care of him. Among other things.

Spike (Cowboy Beebop)- He’s the best at what he does. His intelligence and physical skill make him a highly desirable mate. What? I’m just saying…

Ashitaka (Princess Mononoke)- What can I say about this guy? He’s the outdoorsy type, the prince of his clan, he’s quick, courageous, animals trust him, and he’s voiced by Dr. Manhattan (that last part doesn’t actually do anything for me. Trivia!)

Needless to say all of these characters are a bit damaged, because who wants a man without a past? Not me, sister. They’re also drawn with special attention, none of that HUGE ANIME EYES baloney. Don’t get me wrong, their hair is all ridiculous, but that’s how anime distinguishes one character from another. I’m over it.

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goodness, humor

May I introduce Maru…

If you’re not familiar with the phenomenon that is Maru, the dark times are over, friend. It’s time to stop being lame and look him up. He’s just the best.

Maru the cat lives in an apartment in Japan with an owner who has done the rest of us the favor of encouraging his eccentricities, filming them, and putting them all over YouTube. If you’ve been stressing about the complete lack of watching a fat cat do a sliding dive into an empty box, let me put you at ease. Maru is a big, fat, adorable sweetheart that will win over dog-lovers everywhere by intentionally cramming himself into tiny, lidded trash bins, and sliding comically out from under couches on his back.

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goodness, humor, life

The relativity of everything

Sometimes as I people-watch, I pretend I’m an alien, and try to imagine how strange the things we do might seem to someone with no experience with humans. In no particular order, here are a few I enjoy feigning ignorance about:

The morning coffee ritual– Sleep inadequate to recharge daily energy levels in adults. Supplement required for productivity.
Children playing pretend– Instantaneous construction of increasingly complex false reality, usually while (mostly) conscious of its falsehood.
Singing– Experimental noises from the human throat meant for entertaining others or oneself. Usually louder and noticeably more tonal than speech.
A crowd at a sporting event– Adults playing pretend; two armies clash with one clear victor. A simple sense of morals, similar to their young.
Young women doing each other’s makeup– Bonding through mutual assistance to increase mating appeal.
Funerals– Collective support through gathering and discussion of deceased with acceptable (often encouraged) demonstrations of a sense of loss (in some cultures).
Dancing– Demonstration of physical ability through study and imitation of traditional movements. Self entertainment, a form of relaxation through solitary or collective physical movement, usually accompanied by music with strong attention to percussive instruments. Demonstration of rhythm (the ability to anticipate the next iteration of a percussive sound) and physical coordination to potential mates. Movement for the sake of movement.
Meditating– Attempt at alternate thought patterns and occasionally the eventual abandonment of the body through total lack of movement, vision, speech and interaction with anything.
Kissing– Physical contact, specifically with the lips, of one or more people to demonstrate romantic, sexual, or familial preference or greeting.
Telling a joke– Attempt to elicit a joyful reaction from others, usually to bond or gain acceptance.

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anime, goodness

Tachikoma! and Beastlie #3…

I was at a friend’s place last night while a couple people played the new Lara Croft co-op, when my friend mentioned Beastlies.  I said something like, I’m so glad I showed them to you, how is Grant?  To which she said something like, he’s great, I’ve ordered three more.  I lol’d, but shouldn’t have been all that surprised.  Those little guys were made for people like my friend.  While she was showing me the adorable ones she had gotten, I decided to take another look at the website, and BAM! there was Avery, just waiting, begging me to adopt him.  So I did.  I think he’ll get along fine with Gildon and Lani.  I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop, when I reach a point where I sit down at my computer, look down at my little menagerie and say, “Jesus, what a huge waste of time and money.  And they’re not even that cute!”  I wonder if that’ll ever happen.  I’m guessing not.

I recently got ramen with my boyfriend at my favorite noodle restaurant, Chabuya.  Afterwards, we got milk tea at a nearby boba place, and wandered around in a little Japanese shop with random erasers, bags, teacups, etc. (that routine has become kind of a tradition).  They sell all kinds of toys and figurines too, and when I saw this little tachicoma, I couldn’t resist.  If you haven’t watched the Ghost in the Shell series, stop reading right now, call up your otaku buddy with bad skin and no girlfriend who watches anime all the time, and ask him to loan it to you.  It’s 26 episodes of futuristic supercop detective work with a strong side of action and some philosophical musings about whether a machine of adequate complexity can be considered human.  It’s a beautifully animated, expertly voiced, fascinating series that wraps everything up in an explosive bow at the end.

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