BrowserMetrics

I've been reading today's link through Google Translate. It's a website dedicated to sakamichi series and Nogizaka46 more. It's because they have some serious articles about my favorite idol group. Really serious articles. Enough that I wish I could read kanji enough to understand what is being said.

http://nogizaka-journal.com

Labels: lotd, Nogizaka46, well read

This past weekend was the big anime convention in Baltimore, Otakon. One of their guests was the infamous Aya Hirano. She's the voice actress for Haruhi Suzumiya. While there is no word about a third season of Haruhi, we still got the light novels. The latest light novel, The Intrigues of Haruhi Suzumiya.

Now the light novels in this series have followed a pattern after the first installment. There are two books of short stories followed by one book with a feature length story. The last feature length book, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya, was the best so far. It featured Yuki in moe mode. The Intrigues comes a close second, and it featured Mikuru Asahina the moe maid of the SOS Brigade. While she could never beat out Yuki, Mikuru is so moe that you just got to love her like Kyon does.

The Intrigues follows Kyon as he finally goes back to save himself as he had done in Disappearance. Then he comes back to meet a version of Mikuru from eight days in the future sent back to the past by his future self. The bulk of the book involves adventures with eight day future Mikuru. Why did Kyon send her back from the future? And how does any of this have to do with the older, future, curvier Mikuru? Read the book as it was a great read.

This book added depth to the Haruhi universe. It expands the cast with the addition of an opposing faction against each of the SOS Brigade members. There's a faction of time travelers who oppose Mikuru's group. There's a faction of ESPers that oppose Itsuki's Agency. There's another sentient alien being -- Yuki watch out! It plays as a set up for the latter novels and makes the setting greater.

I sped through this book on my trip to Germany. I finished it up early in the week and I regret not having reread it again immediately. I even read it after having a few litres of beer!

After reading this installment of Haruhi, I wish to see another season of the anime. It would be awesome to get the rest of the short stories filled out, then we can get another Haruhi movie from this book. Please, please, please Kyo-ani, more Haruhi anime.

Labels: bookish, review, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, well read

In the morning before the ground shook, I was reading Micheal Chabon's Maps And Legends and came upon his intro to Casting the Runes, an anthology of M.R. James ghost stories. Chabon celebrates the short story "Oh, Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad!" as M.R. James' greatest ghost story. He also laments that the ghost story has fallen out of favor with writers.

I concur. There's something satisfying about a well crafted ghost stories. A well written ghost story sends shivers up your spine and is a joy to read. You're frightened and elated and that's a good feeling.

What I liked about Chabon's essay was that he went touched upon a few things I noticed about ghost stories -- things I felt I should write about too. Here's where I write about them.

Chabon talked about the first person perspective of most ghosts stories. They are mostly told by a narrator describing ghastly things he has seen or has heard about from a reliable source. Chabon talked about the truthiness of the ghost story accounts. The narrator's account from a first person perspective -- can you trust 'em? Or that they seem almost true. Chabon talked about how they were told on cold winter nights around camp fires. That's the best time for ghost stories. And they are told, spoken, enough to scare you.

I, too, love the first person perspective of the ghost story. "I don't believe in the supernatural, but...." They always open like that and you get hooked. I don't believe in the supernatural but I love the chills I get from reading them. I love 'em in the winter. The darkness. The cold. Under the covers. The darkness. All are conducive to being frightened.

It's almost fall and the day's are getting longer. It's almost time for a good ghost story. "I don't believe in the supernatural..."

Labels: spooky, well read

It's come to this. With the closing of Borders, it's become hard to find manga. You can still use Amazon or you can go digital.

Try today's link. Is it worth it?

Maybe, I'll just read the fansubs.

http://www.jmanga.com/

Labels: comics, commerce, lotd, manga, well read

I am currently two months into reading Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway. It's taken me this long not because its a particularly thick book, but because I've only read it off and on a few pages one night, then a chapter the next. Everytime I read it, I'm hooked. It's a gripping account of the last good days of the Imperial Japanese Kido Butai their carrier division strike force as it meets its end at Midway. At the rate I'm reading this book, I'll be done by September.

In reading this book, it's made me more curious about naval ships and especially about their damage control activities. It's kind of coupled to my work as well as I'm doing things with automated systems on board a ship. Stupid as it is working for IniTech has me very close to a few things that I am interested in. Boats, man, boats. I like 'em.

Now, all this makes me wonder if I should be building the Kido Butai instead of the IJN battleships. I should build out the Akagi or Soryu rather than the Nagato. Scratch that. Nagato is awesome.

Labels: fine scale modeling, nagato, well read

A week before the Hawaiian Vacation, I had bought the latest American Haruhi light novel, The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya. I figured that it was gonna be a good beach read. When we got to the 808 state, the first few days I didn't even pick it up. Then at Ko Olina, bored silly with the fake Hawaii, I started to read it. In the trade winds it took a while to get into the story. Honestly, the first couple of Nagaru Tanigawa's light novels were not that great. The first one, The Melancholy..., is fine but The Sigh... kind of stunk and The Boredom... was 2/4 a good read. I wasn't looking forward to read this episode. I'm really waiting for the movie.

Yet, in the trade winds, on the beach, I couldn't put the book down. I had finally found out why this series rocked.

It is all about the Nagato! Yuki plays a big important role in this book. And more Yuki the better.

It starts off the week before Christmas, and the SOS Brigade is gonna throw a nabe stew Christmas party. Its what Haruhi wants. The gang just goes along. Then, the world becomes a different place. Kyon meets the deadly Asakura again. Haruhi is no longer a student at North High. There is no SOS Brigade. And Yuki is human. Yuki Nagato is the only member of the Literature club, 100% human and shy, cute as all get out. She even asks Kyon to join. Who could not? But all is wrong and Kyon must find his way back to his reality.

So I blazed through this book in another day. Spent a sunny afternoon with it and hunkered down in an evening reading. Did this all in paradise. But I didn't mind as this is the best book of the series so far.

Read it. You'll love Nagato as well.

Now, I'm just waiting for the movie, and to see the human Nagato on screen.

Labels: bookish, nagato, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, well read

Posting this to the blog as a reminder.

Maybe this should've been a tweet.

Ehh. Who cares? No one's reading anyway.

Suck it, Matt Lauer!

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/09/world/asia/09syjuco.html

Labels: "blog as notepad", well read

When I first started reading manga, I stuck to safe shonen stuff, usually ecchi. I stayed away from shojo (girls) manga, because the sparkly screen tone and the big eyed girls and handsome men scared me. Eventually, though, I had to pick up a shojo series. Once I did I found that it wasn't so bad. Those sparkly screen tones weren't so bad. Not all the series I read featured them, and when they showed up, sparkles! The big eyed girls not so scary either. But still the handsome men (or boys), they still are aloof and mean, but important.

I like shojo. It's another genre to explore. There are good stories found in it. I hope you read some too.

Shonen. Now there's something that's become scary.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/jason-thompson-house-of-1000-manga/the-rose-of-versailles/2010-05-06

Labels: lotd, manga, well read

I'm gonna link a scanlation. It's to Cross Game by Adachi Mitsuru. It's one of the finest manga out there now. Mitsuru-sensei is the Japanese film director, Ozu, as a mangaka. Not in theme, but in the ability to establish atmosphere. He loves to extend time panel by panel.

Umm. You should be reading this.

Labels: Cross Game, manga, Ozu, well read

I read the Wyman's post on summer reading, and it reminds me that I, too, did some heavy summer reading. Heavy in the sense that I read more books in the past few months than I had done in a long time. And, no, they weren't filled with 2D girls or men in tights, they were real books with words, sentences, and paragraphs. Stories, persuasive arguments, colorful anecdotes. All there in the books I read. I'll divide the books into the genres I was reading to highlight what piqued my interest for the summer.

The first subject I devoured relates to the grand old national pastime, baseball. It began with Alyssa Milano's recollection of her life filtered through the joys of the boys of summer: Safe At Home. Admittedly, I picked it up because as an 80s kid, I had a crush on her, and I want to find out her views on the game. She's very knowledgeable about the game. It's rather intimidating as I only know it superficially enough to get by in the stands, but she knocks 'em out of the park with her experience (and love for the game.)

I also read an interesting account of the 1966 World Series, Black And Blue. The Orioles first World Series. It seems so long ago as compared to the sad, sad team they are today, but we were champions once. It's an interesting read, but I think all sports books kind of have the same ebb and flow: here's team A, then here's team B, then they meet, post-mortem. It really should've been Black and Orange as the tale (and the Series) was mostly about the Orioles.

I read about Ichiro and his impact on the game. I have the prequel and intend to read it, but it languishes on my nightstand.

The next genre was new urbanism. I got through James Howard Kuntsler's tirade, Home From Nowhere and slogged through Traffic. It's almost making me want to move into high-density, public transportation ready cities. I'm currently reading Jane Jacob's polemic, The Life and Death of Great American Cities.

I did geek out. Besides Oscar Wao I managed to read the light novel, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. It's the original source for the anime. It's decent, but exactly like the anime. I'm catching up with Suzumiya-sama by starting in on The Sighs of Haruhi Suzumiya. Kami-sama saves.

Labels: nerd, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, well read

Running to the window, he opened it, and put out his
head. No fog, no mist; clear, bright, jovial, stirring, cold;
cold, piping for the blood to dance to; Golden sunlight;
Heavenly sky; sweet fresh air; merry bells. Oh, glorious!
Glorious!

"What's to-day!" cried Scrooge, calling downward to a
boy in Sunday clothes, who perhaps had loitered in to look
about him.

"EH?" returned the boy, with all his might of wonder.

"What's to-day, my fine fellow?" said Scrooge.

"To-day!" replied the boy. "Why, CHRISTMAS DAY."

"It's Christmas Day!" said Scrooge to himself. "I
haven't missed it. The Spirits have done it all in one night.
They can do anything they like. Of course they can. Of
course they can. Hallo, my fine fellow!"

"Hallo!" returned the boy.

"Do you know the Poulterer's, in the next street but one,
at the corner?" Scrooge inquired.

"I should hope I did," replied the lad.

"An intelligent boy!" said Scrooge. "A remarkable boy!
Do you know whether they've sold the prize Turkey that
was hanging up there?--Not the little prize Turkey: the
big one?"

"What, the one as big as me?" returned the boy.

"What a delightful boy!" said Scrooge. "It's a pleasure
to talk to him. Yes, my buck!"

"It's hanging there now," replied the boy.

"Is it?" said Scrooge. "Go and buy it."

"Walk-ER!" exclaimed the boy.

"No, no," said Scrooge, "I am in earnest. Go and buy
it, and tell 'em to bring it here, that I may give them the
direction where to take it. Come back with the man, and
I'll give you a shilling. Come back with him in less than
five minutes and I'll give you half-a-crown!"

The boy was off like a shot. He must have had a steady
hand at a trigger who could have got a shot off half so fast.

"I'll send it to Bob Cratchit's!" whispered Scrooge,
rubbing his hands, and splitting with a laugh. "He sha'n't
know who sends it. It's twice the size of Tiny Tim. Joe
Miller never made such a joke as sending it to Bob's
will be!"

Eat, drink and enjoy this wonderful day. Go to church if you believe. And even if you don't.

God, bless us, everyone!

Labels: tis the season, well read

My buddy, Wyman Lee, has moved his blog to WordPress. He thought about Blogger but found that people usually move off of blogger to something better. Even though he doesn't post very often, check him out especially if you have some interest in asian films.

http://jadedwings.wordpress.com/

Labels: F.O.B., well read

Besides finishing up The Shadow of the Wind, I read completely The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. This was the first book in his Dark Materials trilogy. Do I feel like reading the next two? Yes, but I don't want to do it just this month. No, and it wouldn't be a tragedy not finishing the trilogy. The book was alright, but it was not as compelling a fantasy realm as other places I have read about. I may finish the trilogy sometime later.

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. C+

Labels: bookish, review, well read