Greetings once again, friends and fellow bloggers. Not much new going on here. I have just about finished my manga kick and have started watching anime again. Here are some thoughts and observations.

Sekirei - both the manga and the anime - Manga good, anime bad. In fact, I liked the manga quite abit. It's classified as Seinen at mangafox and onemanga. I wouldn't classify it as Seinen at all. Not particularly relevant or penetrating. A cute harem commedy/action. I think that the female lead is mentally ill. Anyway, the anime lost most of the charm that the manga had.

Moribito - anime - fairly new on [adult swim]. I am liking this one so far. Very slow, so far, but I like detailed and emersive story and plot driven anime. The female lead, Balsa, reminds me of Major Kurisagi from Ghost in the Shell. I have missed a few eps on [as] so I have had to watch a few online to keep up. So far I am liking it.

Blade of the Immortal - anime - Wow, I am really like this one so far. Although it is early in the season. But I'm sticking with it for sure. Very violent, graphically bloody. Interesting story line. There are a number of dualities and I haven't quite figured out the subtext yet. Sad in many ways. Dark. Almost anti-heroic in some regards, heroic in other ways. Interesting juxtapositions about redemption - for example, does redemtpion require cognition and remorse, or it is simply opposite action? Many moral questions are asked and few answers are giving. I like the complexity.

There are a coupel one-shot mangas by Kawash!ta Mitzuki, but the titles escape me at the moment. I recomend them...anything, in fact, by Mrs Kawash!ta.

Second Season of Vampire Knight: Guilty. I think that I missed an ep. Or maybe the transition just wasn't very good. But I like the first couple eps. Yuuki, what are you thinking?!? I can't tell if Kaname is noble or a complete spelunker.

Clannad - anime - couple eps in and it isn't really grabbing me so far. It's fallen lower on my priority list.

Bleach - manga and anime - I have caught up quite a few chapters, but then I jumped ahead to the most recent 20. I am pleased that there is a return to the HM arc in the anime as there seems to be a greater congruency bewteen the manga and anime. I wonder when Nel will show-up in the anime...doesn't look like it will happen for a few eps. And I am curious how and when the vizards will show up in the anime and manga.

Kanokon - manga - as over the top and ecchi as the anime was, I am pretty impressed with the manga. There haven't been any updates in many months, but recently, a few more characters were scanilated and translated.

Emma: A Vicorian Romance - anime - I purchased the 1st season box set. I absolutely loved the manga and so far the anime has been very faithful to the manga. I love the subtext about gender, class, and love.

12 Kingdoms - anime - I'm about half way through the subs. I just bought the dubs box set and watched the fire couple eps. It's not too bad in English. I really like the storyline and plot. I recomend this one.

Greetings once again, friends and fellow bloggers. I have a very short story that I find dreadfully funny. Those of you...maybe one or two...who have read my very first few blogs entitled Perils and Pitfalls of a Chinese Bathroom may understand why I find this disproportionately funny. Given the tragectory of my bathroom experiences starting with learning the hard way that there isn't any toilet paper in China and wiping myself with a $20 bill, to having to bleach by ass after a cesspool splashback, to getting stuck in a stall in what was escentially a girls bathroom in Shanghai...finally, it wasn't me on the receiving end of a crule twist of fate. Today it was my wife. And she wasn't prepared for the horrors of an American Restroom.

We are in an Ikea looking for a table. As we are at the very end of the furnature maze, she tells me she has to use the restroom. Not a problem, there is one right by the exit and we are just about there. So far, so good. We didn't didn't find a table, but we found a flease throw-blanket so we can keep warm while watching tv. Now, this is off topic, but she chose a horible avacado green and cream colored pattern - our living room is in red and black - use your imagination. Brutal. Anyway, I wait for her at the snack bar by the exit. She is gone for at least five minutes, maybe a bit longer. I am playing brick-breaker on my blackberry, so I am not really paying attention to the time. Anyway, she gets back and asks, 'how do you spell disgusting?'. I thought she said 'discussing', so I tell her that. She texts one of her friends, then says to me, "that's wrong". Well, I guess I could me, I am a horrible speller. Then it occures to me that I miss understood her accent, so I ask if she ment disgusting. She nods. Oh...I get the picture. I tell her how to spell it and she texts again to her friend. Afterwards she gives an exasperated sound. So I ask her, "pretty bad in the bathroom?". Apparently so. She used some toilet paper to clean the seat and more as an ass-gasket, but didn't pay enough attention to how much was left on the role. So when she finishes her business, she is out of luck as well as out of toilet paper. Ah, a moment of personal vindication for me, but even more importantly, it is a moment of empathy and I say in total sincerity, "I'm sorry, honey. I totally know how you feel."

Greetings again my friends and fellow bloggers. Little irritated at the moment as I typed a longer blog about some work and personal stuff and then my computer reloaded. Friggin' automatic updates. I am not computer savvy enough to know how to change that option. Anyway, my level and progress again jumped back today...down from level 22 and 3% to level 21 and 88%. And I was thinking about how much else was going backwards in my life, or seeming to go backwards. The primary issue has been with my wife. Every marriage has low points and we are at one now - much soon than I would have comfortably accepted - only three years in. Usually, the excriment doesn't hit the fan until about five to seven years in. Strange. We nadered out about a week about and things are steady now, if not improving slightly. Love is not the problem; it never has been. Not for the 11 years I have known her. But having a common ground and an understanding unconditioned by gender, class, culture, religion, and age...that is hard to come by. At least we are now talking about consulting a mariage counselor rather than consulting attorneys...and if nothing else, that is a step in the right direction. Work is another arena that is a bit of a condundrum for me. My primary job is a child therapist for violent offenders, often extreamly violent. That job is going well as it plays to both my strengths and interests and it is challenging enough to keep me fighting...I am catholic, so I believe in fighting for lost causes and hopeless struggles. For me, it is not the success per se, but the effort and unwillingness to concide that is important, particularly on a spiritual level. But my second job...if find myself questioning why I keep going through the motions. The thing is, my second job, in one aspect is totally fantasitic. The pay is extreamly low, but the level of work and responsibility is extreamly low too. I am a overnight/grave counselor. Basically, I get paid to stay awake and allert and keep the kids from raping each other - they are all sex offenders, so that is a legit concern. So 99.9% of the time, I spend watching anime, playing xbox or games on my laptop, or watching the History Channel. The pay is laughable, less than 25K, but add that to my prime job, and I do pretty well. But things seem to be changing at my second job. New supervior, whom I do like on a personal level, but really question credentials on a perfessional level, a change in the level of clientel over time. Is the pay really worth the time as I have less time to spend working on my marriage. In the US, jobs are at a primium and a resouce not to be squandered. I understand that. And I know that people would love my job as a second source of income. But I don't like being told what, how, why, and when to do things by somebody with a fraction of my experience and education. My supervisor was telling me something or other about my job; and I found that I couldn't even validate her. Her job is tough. I should be able to accept some feedback without being so stubborn and obstitant; but I am finding it inceasingly difficult. I have said some really pretentious things and feel about about it, but at the same time feel that I am justified. Things like, 'you were 7 when I started in this field', 'I got my Masters when you were 10, who the F are you to tell me what and how to do things'. My sense is that she is a good person who is trying very hard to do a difficult job well, but I can't seem to get past the intensity of my own feelings and judgements. Damn, I am totally just ranting at this point. I would like to see a light at then end of the proverbial tunnel, but that light that has been there for years gets dimmer and most distance eacy passing day. I don't know at the moment, maybe it's just a particularly bad day. But the thoughts running through my mind are pretty consistent. Anyway, I hope that you are having a good day. And no matter how negative I sound at the moment, I do believe that god hears all prayers and that redemption is more than just a liminal goal. I will end this rant with a quote from the Deserata Docuent "...for all it's sham, drudgery, and broken dreams it is still a beautiful world. Strive to be happy"...and a line from the prayer of St. Francis, "it is in forgiving that we are forgiven". I hope you are well.

Greetings once again friends and fellow bloggers. This is the 4th installment of my Musical Chicken story. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Musical Chicken, it is a passive-aggressive game I play with my wife. It works like this: We both simultaneously listen to each other's music; whoever pulls-the-plug, so to speak, loses. Generally, I win this game, because my wife has most often chosen classical chinese music and I tend to like that very much. Me, I usually choose hard rock like Metallica or cerebrial rock like Tool. But every now and then, she wins. She won today on our way to go shopping. I figured Mudvayne is an ace-in-the-hole. She can't stand them, and has disaffectionately refered to metal as, and these are her words, "Constipation Rock" meaning that they sound like they can't drop a duce. Anyway, I am as confedent as a poker player with a straight flush in hand, then she hits me, to my complete astonishment, with a royal flush: Chinese Rap. Holy crap, I wasn't even prepared, conceptually, for it's existance. But when it hit me, I knew it was over. There is no way that I can sit through it, even with some metal to drownd it out. Damn, another loss. I am down to 20 and 4.

I am only comforted by the fact that should we get divorced, at least we won't fight about the music collection.

Some more of the new math from from TV.com. Yesterday, I was at 88%. This morning I was at 89%. Then, late tonight, I am back down to 88%. Maybe the US economy is some how linked to TV.com. Who knows??

Greetings, friends and fellow bloggers. Lots of things going on in my corner of the world and few of them good. About 12 days ago, I had a nasty little sinus infection that turned into a really bad sore throat. Then, about a week ago, the cold settled on my chest. I simply thought that I had a bad caugh and cold. After a few days it got significantly worse; I had a scratchy, burning sensation while caughing. Going against my better judgement, I went into urgent care last wednesday. They X-rayed my lungs and found what they suspected were spots of early stage pneumonia. I missed a couple days of work...I really hate that...but got to wrap myself up in a heavy blanket and sleep for 14 hours every day since then. My fever is up and down, and while high, I have been sweating very heavily. The very worst part of this all is that the meds I am taking cannot be mixed with alcohol so I haven't had a beer in days. I weighed myself this evening. I am down 10lbs to 232. All from being laid up in bed sick. Of course, with the nausia, I haven't been eating much either. The doctors say that the anitbiotics should fully work by Monday. With my luck, though, I probably got the bad-attitude pneumonia. Fair enough. I am a stubborn MF, so bring it on, microbs! I'll F you up.

So, I am watching [as]. It is about 2am Sunday morning. What the hell?!?. This may be the worst sunday line up I have ever seen. The best on tap is Metallocolypes and ATHF and then it is down hill from there? God, I do hope it gets better in the next hour or so. Sunday morning is the only time I look forward to TV...well, I like late wednesday nights on the history channel too. And now, it's all crap. Bummer. Time to buy some more anime box sets.

Greetings, once again, friends and fellow bloggers. For the few of you who have read through my blogs, you know that I am Catholic. I have never claimed to be very good at it. I have always been enough of a leftist and anarcho-syndiclist to look through dogma (the social construction of religion) to see what is most important: faith (the spirituality of religion). Anyway, every now and then I am given a scripture quote from a close friend that intrigues me. Here is the most recent one that has peaked my interest...and strangely enough, it reminds me of one of my favorit t-shirts.

The quote is from Psalm 78:27: He rained meat down on them like dust, flying birds like sand on the seashore.

ST'Q to god: You are totally awsome!!

[one of] My favorit t-shirt[s] has this statement: There is a place for all of god's creatures. Right next to the potatos and gravy.

Holy crap, friends and fellow bloggers. As I type this I am listening to Metallica's new album Death Magnetic. And I will tell you this, for those of you who have read my blogs on Musical Chicken, I now have some serious fuel for the fire! This album rocks and it rocks hard. So far, it is more indicitive of their peek 80s sound than of their late 90s or their previous album, St. Anger, which was more of a thrash metal. I am only on track 4, but I am liking it. Move over Disturbed; you won't be living in my CD player any more.

Rock Hard, friends.

ST'Q - aka Shadowheart

I saw that on a teeshirt yesterday. I got the giggles so hard I disloged my liver and one of my kidneys.

Oh, btw, I totally love hyperbolies.

Greetings friends and fellow bloggers. It is a bitter-sweet day for me. My very first two mangas, my very favorit two mangas, have finally come to an end. Bitter Virgin and Elfen Lied. Both are one of three mangas I have given a perfect 10 score to. Bitter Virgin has seen an increase in popularity in the past month, perhaps because word has gotten out. Four months ago, at Onemanga, Bitter Virgin wasn't even in the top 20, a month ago it was number 18. Today it is the number 4 most viewed manga. Right on. I can't recomend it enough. Without giving too much of a spoiler, I will say that the ending was rather mild given how heart-wrenching and emotionally penetrating the rest of the story was. Elfen Lied hasn't quite cracked the top 20 at Onemanga, although it is still sitting pretty at number 21. Not too bad for a manga I had considered a bit of an acquired taste. Over the last eight months or so, I have been waiting, often impatiently, for the final chapters to be translated. And now...sadly...my wait is through. I'm not entirely sure what to do with my time now. I have started Bleach from the beginning and that will keep me occupied for a while. And I will start rereading Ichigo 100% in the upcoming months. BTW, Ichigo 100% is the only other manga I have given a perfect score of 10 to.

I guess there is alway going back to anime. I have taken a bit of a rest from it over the past month or so. I never did finish 12 Kingdoms, despite how intrigue the first 14 episodes were. Anyway, I will miss the newness of the final chapters of my favorit mangas.

Happy reading, everybody.