I was too quick to celebrate the return of Little Black. It's dead again. The power source is dead, to be exact.

Since late last night, the light on the power adapter started flashing, but I didn't notice it until the computer beeped the plug-in-the-power-or-lose-your-work low power warning. By then, it was too late. The power adapter is still blinking now, though the ratio changed from 1:1 to 1:2, where 1 is on and 2 is off. The same problem had occurred once before when Little Black was still in coma, but it was fixed after unplugging and re-plugging the cords a few times. Luck doesn't seem to be with me this time around. :(

I am tempted to buy the universal power adapter if that would solve the problem, but it'll cost me close to 100 bucks, and there is no telling how long Little Black itself will last. Such cruel dilemma... Is it just not meant to be? T__T

There was something I wanted to write about but I can't remember it now...

All I can think of at this moment is the very cute Chinese crested (Powderpuff type) I saw in the store today. That's my first real-life Chinese crested, I believe. Absolutely adorable; pale beige and near white for the crest, cream toward the back. Very friendly, too. She even licked my hand. XD

機動戦士ガンダムSEED Special Edition II 遥かなる暁 前編

I won't go into too much detail as most of this is re-run of the regular episodes. Since it's been a long time, I couldn't really tell if there's any new footage at all except for having Park Romi as Nicol. For the most part, I just watched it as is and enjoyed re-living the moments with the characters. Ok, so I still paid more attention to Athrun and Fllay...

Watching the special edition made me want to finish the fanfic I started so long ago. Maybe I will finish it... sometime in the unforeseeable future.

Oops, I missed the time. My internet connection was acting weird so I went away for a while...

Anyhow, nothing too special today, except that I went back to work after four days of 'rest.' The cold is almost gone, but the coughing just refuses to be rid of and breaks out every so often. My throat still hurts. Coughing candies have become necessities now... Annoying.

Mum's been wanting me to call in sick to really rest until I am fully recovered, but I know myself. This would take a while, maybe even another week or so. So I'll continue. Luckily, it wasn't too busy today so I didn't have to talk a lot. It better stay this way for the rest of the week *flee* XP

'Tis a day calling for celebration, for Little Black and Google Maps are resurrected!

After many months of being dead (and I've been kicking myself countless number of times for that seemingly innocent act of network attempt), Little Black, my dear little trusty notebook, is back in action! For the past year or so, Little Black would loses its OS from time to time and sometimes the hard drive when I boot it up. Everyone told me it's the motherboard battery and there's basically nothing I could do but to watch it die before my eyes, especially since digital isn't even around anymore. I was so sad because I still had some documents in there (e.g. the Christmas play I accidentally overwrote with another file of the same name on Coordinator), and ever since I switched to the desktop, I haven't really wrote at all. Hopefully having Little Black back would get some of that creative juice flowing again.

Ok, it's indeed miraculous to have a supposedly dead laptop back, but what's with the Google Maps? It's been working all along, isn't it? Well, here's the situation. Due to the bug with JavaScript setting the html page title and causing Firefox to hang for a reallllly long time, I applied the work-around and added a line to the prefs.js (which, frankly, I didn't even remember doing it). When it's set at "noAccess," Google Maps just doesn't load, and Gmail gives me a blank page after almost any action. To think that I even emailed the Gmail team on the problem... orz But everything is all good now. My Mozilla and Firefox are once more happy browsers. What about the security concern regarding the title loading thing? Well, I did it just to be on the safe side, but the exploit requires direct user interaction and doesn't work too well (just deleting the history seems to solve the problem anyway), so I'll just do without for now.

In an attempt to start the year for the blog, here I am.

The first hour or so of the year 2006 was spent at the prayer meeting with all my dear brothers and sisters from the church. We had lots of praise and prayer. It was wonderful time. :)

Though, two hours of singing and shouting might had been one of the culprits for my worsened condition this morning, while the lack of sufficient rest might be another. As a result, I woke up with an extremely painful throat, an upset stomach (not too sure on this one; could it be from the different pills?), and headache. I was so disappointed that I couldn't make it to the unified service at PA. T__T

Yeah, I'm going to see my family doctor if he's open tomorrow. Luckily, I have the day off. Hopefully I'll recover enough to work on Tuesday. Calling in sick sucks, be it for work or for church. :(

Ok, I wasn't planning to update until Jan. 1 because I wanted a fresh start (again), but I think this calls for at least an archival for myself. What is it? Well, I'm sick. What's the big deal? Every one gets sick. Yes, that's true, but I usually get majorly sick once a year, and this happens to be it.

Let's start from the beginning, shall we? Cold symptoms started to show about a week or so before Christmas, but nothing too bad. A few sneezes and a sore throat. The symptoms died down although I never fully recovered, and then I was hit with a second wave about two days ago. It was still ok then, with a sorer throat as the only indication. But it got worse as the day went on, and headaches and drowsiness joined in as well. I had to take off early yesterday and went home to SLEEP. Whenever I sleep over ten hours or in the afternoon, you know there is something REALLY wrong, as I think sleep is a waste of time and usually only sleep enough to keep me going. Anyway, this morning when I woke up, it hurt to talk. As a result, I had to call in sick; my first time in over two years I've worked there. After going back to get some more sleep, hopefully it'd go away, I opened my eyes and realised now I've almost lost my voice. So that's where the situation stands right now.

I've often heard of other people changing their living habits after a major sickness to stay healthy. Hopefully, this will be enough warning to at least convince me to sleep 7-8 hours every day. I'll keep my fingers crossed.

Due to posts by D & L on the moztw forum, I switched to Traditional Chinese mode and logged back into KK this afternoon. Of course, I didn't remember a thing on the commands and just wanted to make sure all my chars were still registered. Then in an act of boredom, I started fingering IDs. To my surprise, "shiba" was freed up (though "sheltie" was taken. I should had re-registered it after it was deleted from inactivity...) After deciding on a name for it, I logged in again after the server rebooted and got the ID.

Including Shiba, I have 10 active (a.k.a. surviving) chars. I like to create and build up different characters, but because of this, none of my chars ever got a job change... There is a reason why I always call Saluki the "eternal hero priestess." orz

Anyhow, training Shiba for an hour and a half was travelling down the memory lane for me. Though because it used to be someone else's ID, I didn't call out for help on the chat channel for eq. Needless to say, I spent most of my time in the sewer under the bar killing rats...

When will the next time be? Don't know. Probably sometime in the distant future. I don't see myself switching to Traditional Chinese mode unless I really really really want to (and have the time to) play KK. So until next time, please take care of yourselves and don't get deleted, my cute little chars. XP

Just changed the name of the writing blog from "Geschichten der Phantasie" (Stories of Fantasy) to "Sora o Yume Miru" (そらを夢見る). Originally, I wanted to use "Tales of Phantasia" or "Tales of Legendia", but alas, those are actual names of video games so I had to give up on the idea. I chose German because I like to use big words... in a foreign language that I don't know XP. No, it's really because it was one of the available languages on the Google Translate page that looked cool after the translation of "story of fantasy" or "story of legend." However, I haven't been completely satisfied with the choice and kept wanting to change it.

Why "Sora o Yume Miru"? While I was trying to finalise the name just now, my cute little Winamp played「奇跡の海」from ロードス島戦記, and I was once again visualising the vast and open world of wonders and exciting adventures. In here, そら is used for sky, space, and the universe. I love to write, whether it's fiction, fan-fiction, non-fiction, or just dabble.

So it's decided! Thou shall be "Sora o Yume Miru," and the theme song shall be「奇跡の海」XD

When will the blog actually be online? I'm shooting for next year. *flee* Patience is a virtue. (￣ー￣)

Gundam SEED Festival 12-27-2003 Part.2

Part.2 的聲優演出是田中理恵跟保志総一朗。ラクス的部份主要是在親眼目睹於戰爭中失去親友之人的悲痛及仇恨, 親身經歷無可奈何但不得不戰的感受之後, 對戰爭本身和身邊參戰者的看法和吶喊。老實說, 我覺得她會跟キラ是因為他在這片名為戰爭的混沌中找到了自己的定位跟道路, 同時帶來對未來的希望和盼望。與其說他們是戀人(官方說法卻下!), 倒不如說他們是總指揮官跟副指揮官的關係, 一方指引道路及方向, 另一方則全心全力跟隨。キラ的部份跟カガリ有點類似, 也是對「敵人」感到質疑, 但是成長後的他發覺人心中真正想要的是「幸福」, 因此即使不明白, 他們會繼續走下去。

西川貴教的「meteor」我一直就很喜歡, 演唱的時候也很配合歌曲形象。玉置成実的「realize」仍然是活力十足地又跳又唱, 果然是可愛的小女孩。ラクス的「水の証」還是不及平時水準, 但是跟之前的「静かな夜に」比起來要好一些。不愧是田中, 咬字超級清楚, 這也是為什麼我有辦法跟著唱ラクス的歌。中島美嘉的「FIND THE WAY」跟原作好像差不多, 不過她唱歌時的手勢實在不好看。說到這個, 南里侑香也有一點, 不過沒那麼礙眼, 田中理恵就完全沒這個問題。

祭典最後是參加的聲優及歌手介紹和每個人對觀眾的幾句話。果然大家講的話都很符合他們的個性, 田中理惠還一副快感動到哭出來的樣子(T__T)。徐若暄唱歌的時候還聽不太出來, 可是講話的時候就很明顯的有口音。很遺憾擔任司儀的置鮎龍太郎始終都沒有露面。最後, 西川貴教的「Invoke」為 Gundam SEED Festival 做了終結。他果然還是很習慣/喜歡這種 live 場面哪。

Gundam SEED Festival 12-27-2003 Part.1

這種祭典之類的都是在日本舉行, 沒想到居然有錄影, 馬上很高興地抓了。這個祭主要是主題曲(OP, ED, 插入曲)演唱跟四個主角的內心獨白, 特別來賓在表演者方面是 T.M.Revolution、ラクス・クライン(XD)、Vivian or Kazuma、FictionJunction featuring YUUKA、玉置成実、中島美嘉, 聲優方面是石田彰、進藤尚美、保志総一朗、田中理恵, 還有最後擔任來賓介紹司儀的置鮎龍太郎。很遺憾沒有桑島法子。

西川貴教以「Invoke」打頭陣, 演出一如往常, 很 flashy 地將氣氛炒起來, 他似乎也很樂在其中, 應該是很習慣這種場面了吧。田中理恵打扮的蠻符合ラクス當歌姬時的形象, 不過不知道是不是太緊張了, 唱「静かな夜に」時頻頻走音。其實很多聲優都會這樣, 平常都不用露面, 在很多人面前反而沒辦法全力演出吧? 她唱完的時候還深深地鞠躬, 真是惹人憐啊。徐若暄我是第一次看到, 老實說我覺得還好, 不過還有點健康少女型就是。唱歌的時候聽不太出來, 不過偶爾會在奇怪的地方換氣, 拍子有時候會跟不太上, 畢竟不是歌手的關係嗎? 搭肩在 Kazuma 身邊跳舞的時候超級像我們店的之前的 receiver 的說。南里侑香的「暁の車」還是那麼感人, 梶浦由記也依然非常投入地在彈奏, 聽起來幾乎跟CD一樣。話說回來, 南里侑香是歌手吧? 怎麼印象中有在某些作品的 credit 看過她的名字; 挑戰聲優嗎? 另外也放了 See-Saw 的「あんなに一緒だったのに」MTV。雖然以前就在網站上看過, 不過果然還是配動畫場景或 ED 的捲軸比較好啊 orz。玉置成実則不負眾望(?)又唱又跳地演出「Believe」。她笑著跳舞的時候也很像我們店的前 receiver 耶。不過不愧是受過專業訓練的歌手, 從頭到尾都在跳居然還能唱出那種聲音, 真是厲害啊。

Part.1 的聲優演出是石田彰跟進藤尚美。アスラン的部份主要是專注於希望能儘快結束戰爭和因此必須在戰場上跟摯友敵對的心情。寫這篇的時候正好在放 SEED Suits CD 的「トリィ」, 聽著兩人訴說過去的回憶, 尤其是アスラン篇, 更是貼切啊。說到這個, 以前用 Google 查 sanopup 的時候, 有一則是別人的 blog(現在已經不在了), 裡頭 quote 了我很久以前在 Gundam.com 的 SEED thread 寫的一篇, 提到アスラン一直一個人躇足不前, 在血的情人節事件後更是, 不像キラ繼續向前進又交了新朋友, 所以對キラ特別 hung up。カガリ的部份主要是與キラ及アスラン的相遇和對「敵人」的看法動搖。進藤尚美的樣子我也是第一次看到, 跟カガリ的形象有點類似呢。BTW, George Glen 那一段好像也是石田彰配。

I knew I should had went and picked up the DVD on Sunday after getting the camera... It's already bought by someone else (along with a few other titles, including Juuni Kokuki, I noticed) when I dropped by today. The mission of acquiring Full Metal Panic vol.5 was a failure. -__-

Since I couldn't get what I went for, I took a quick peek at the digital cameras to see their prices. After hearing my interest in the Kodak 7330, the young sales immediately suggested not to get a Kodak and that they break easily. I admit the particular model in question is somewhat cheap and probably does break easily, but you can't just deny the whole product line from the company because of this. Then he went on to say that HP cameras are garbage. Excuse me? It is true that some of their basic models are on the low side of the spectrum, but they also have some of the best models out there. The guy kept recommending Olympus and Fuji, which happen to rank rather low on my list. Anyhow, I didn't say much to him and thought of the incident as an amusing encounter. Maybe I'll share it with the guys at work someday. XP

On a side note, finally made the decision and got a Langley library card. The branch I went to is in the same building as the city hall(?). It's quite small and doesn't have much in terms of collection, especially in the foreign language section, but the language section isn't bad. I borrowed three books, including one that I've wanted to read for a long time, The Song of Dodo. I hope I'll have time to finish reading it.

This is so sad. -__-

Just got back from work and filled up $20 of gas at 101.4, and both me and another pair of youth were thinking it's cheap. Cheap? It's robbery, I tell ya. While most other things are slowly going down in price, gas price is climbing steadily and speedily up over the years (and recently, months). And you wonder why people are driving down to the States to shop all the time...

Erementar Gerad ep.1-4

To tell the truth, I wasn't expecting too much from the series, seeing how I have yet to read one positive review on it. It's not as bad as I feared, but there're more bad points going for it, I'm afraid.

First off, I have no problem with the traditional RPG-style story, but the female lead is simply too weak. In a sense, Ren is less human than Ayanami Rei (well, let's forget the fact that they're both literally not human...), and that makes all the interactions seem one-sided and thus makes the plot lame. Then there's the unchanging credit in the ED since the first episode. It's annoying when I can't check to verify that I've identified the seiyuu, and this shows the slackness on the staff's part. And lastly -I haven't read the manga yet so this is from other people's reviews- the changing of the characters' personality and motives from the manga. Apparently, the change has made the characters uninteresting and unattractive in the anime, and character is always a biggie for me when I watch any series.

Having said the above, there are some good points about the series. I won't hide it that Ishida Akira as the main character was the first and one of the biggest reason that I watched it. There's also Ueda Yuji, whose name is written in hiragana on the official site and the credit so I didn't bother reading and only realised it's him until I heard him. Speaking of which, his name is also written in hiragana in Honey & Clover. Is he going this way now? The art style is relatively consistent with the original manga, and the music is composed by the famed Kajiura Yuki.

So here's my verdict. Erementar Gerad is a nice little RPG series to keep yourself occupied when you're bored, but not good enough to keep you entertained, especially if Ishida Akira and Ueda Yuji aren't on your list of favourite seiyuu. As for me, I will finish the series eventually, if only for the reasons listed above.

Just finished watching ep.49 & 50 of Gundam SEED on YTV and I must say the impact is not less nor lighter compared to the first time I saw it. The emotional side of the characters' feelings weren't adequately delivered in the dubbed version, but I was able to immerse myself in the flow and the philosophy of the story better not having to follow the subtitles.

First off, the idea of writing a story from the time Flay picks up that transmitter to the time ArchAngel fires the last Lohengrin emerged again from the pile of to-writes in a dusted part of my brain. I think I might just write it in a few days while the memory is still fresh in my mind.

Flay's death. I had to experience the heart-wrenching moment once more as Kira cries out Flay's name in agonised and desperate tears. It's just so... so sad. >__< Watching Kira's expression changes from great relief and gladness from saving Flay and the prospect of seeing her again, to extreme shock and disbelief with coming so close and losing her right before his eyes, was sorrowful and at the same time dramatic.

Flaga's death. Knowing that the guy is alive and well (physically well anyway...) in DESTINY totally nullifies the weight and significance of the event. I have yet to catch up on DESTINY to learn of the reason behind his situation (and hopefully it's along the lines of one of my theories), but it really would make a much more powerful and meaningful move if he were to die then, regardless of whatever excuse the staff thought up for his re-appearance. Enough complaint on this. I will write my thoughts on the event itself when I get around to finish the old-post-project...

I'll leave the real meat for when I actually write the review. These are just some of the thoughts I had when I watched the ending episodes a second time (and dubbed) today.

On a side note, I got a glimpse of One Piece on YTV earlier as well. The OP is completely re-written like Dragon Ball Z, I believe. Just thought it's interesting and a good sign that they're showing more quality anime now (as opposed to the xxxxMon trend). No, I didn't actually watch the episode. I don't imagine I'd follow the series at all, not even in Japanese. I'm already having difficulty wanting to read the manga as it is. I consider myself quite tolerant when it comes to manga art style so that's not really the problem, but if the characters and the story aren't enough to keep me interested, I'd drop the series right there. That's sort of the case with One Piece for me, I guess. *shrug*

ガンダムエース八月号とニュータイプ八月号入手。

The July issue of NewType is probably still in a container at the port waiting to be moved out. So to make matter less complicated, I changed my original plan of starting the subscription from August to start from July. This way, they won't forget that I want the July issue no matter how long it takes the shipment to arrive.

On the other hand, it's apparent that they only carry the latest manga. I tried to find 聖闘士星矢、銀牙～流れ星 銀～(oops, I gave the girl the wrong subtitle, no wonder she couldn't find it ^__^;)、動物のお医者さん with no avail. Maybe it's just faster and easier (and cheaper?) to get those from Taiwan? ふん。まあ、I'm in no hurry anyway. There's always next year...

Just realised that 杉山紀彰 also voices Usahara from Damekko Doubutsu and the new Robert Ten guy with bat wings from Ueki no Housoku. I knew I've heard this voice before. *smirk*

All the mysteries have been revealed: Why is it that the "current" script which works for Paw Wow would fail when copied over to Koinu no Hitomi and the other ones. orz It's a good thing Paw Wow's theme was set before the due date, but this might mean that I'd lose the function if I were ever to change Paw Wow's template code... What a pain. -__-

Now that's settled, I guess I'll have to look for another way to display the most current page for the other ones. Probably dig into some templates and see, but not today. Time to go back to my reading on the dot probability paradigm...

First off, I'm so far behind in episodes (only up to ep.31 now) I have no idea where things are at with Gundam SEED DESTINY (well, not entirely true, since I do read NewType and the such...), but I've been expecting See-Saw's「君は僕に似ている」very highly as the last ED of the series ever since the day it was announced. I was not disappointed one little bit.

The song is indeed fitting to conclude the last cours of the epic. I got goose bumps just from hearing the prelude and the first two lines. The only complaint I have is the consecutive beats in the background now and then, which sounds a bit too much like Mai-HiME to me and somewhat less befitting SEED DESTINY.「静寂はヘッドフォンの中」is also very good and, in a sense, portrays the image of Gundam SEED/DESTINY better. It gives a similar impression as「あんなに一緒だったのに」and 「meteor」, which says a lot about the song itself.

ｷﾀｰｰｰｰｰｰｰ（°∀°）ｰｰｰｰｰｰｰ!!
My first sketch in years: Why Firefox should not be integrated with the IE core!!!

感動です。（つД`）