MILES to GO || before I sleep

It's Miyazaki night over in Northridge... actually, all over the world. Today (er, yesterday, as of 20 minutes ago PST) is Hayao Miyazaki's birthday, so Turner Classic Movies channel is showing Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away. I already watched the latter; about to watch the former. I've seen Princess Mononoke before, in both English and Japan, but it's always great to see Miyazaki movies, over and over. I can't wait until Howl's Moving Castle comes out on DVD-- it's already out in Japanese/Japan DVD. I also want to read the original book of HMC, and the sequel, too!

In other news, I'm searching for a private loan (or something) to fund my potential Study Abroad. I know it's stupid to try and take out a bunch of loans, but I need a "guaranteed" source of funding; I can't put "scholarship" money down because I'm not guaranteed to get it. Study Abroad students for Japan (and I'm the only applicant from CSUN!) can get a grant from the Japanese government once they're accepted, but as I said, there's no guarantee.

So I've looked at MyRichUncle.com, but I don't think Japanese schools are covered. So I went to edvisors.com; there are a bunch of private lenders that use them as a secure redirection source. It looks like no matter what, I'll have to get a co-signer (I'd like it to be grandpa, since I don't trust my mom or dad's credit), but I still have to find out if my address and employment information will be invalidated just because I haven't lived here in Northridge or been employed at any one place for a 2 year minimum.

All this confusion aside, does anyone know of any other sources of money I can look into for an $8,100 payment for Study Abroad?

Also, I had this random idea... kind of stupid, but hey, who knows who'll be into it? Kind of a girl's only thing, though. So I've always been very much into fashion and makeup, but more from the outsider's POV than someone who knows every brand name, ingredient, etc. One of my favorite books back when I used to want to be a fashion designer is "Color Me Beautiful" (dorky, I know), but it really reveals a lot about how your hair, eye color, complexion, etc. can determine your best colors. But of course, it's kind of dated. I keep up with some fashion magazines, and I could easily combine what I know now with the great tips from the books. There are four seasons (Autumn, Winter, Spring, Summer) that apply to people of varying complexions, hair styles/types, and colors. Add that to the latest trends for fashion and makeup, and I could have a pretty comprehensive feature article right here on LJ.

Anyone interested? ^_~ I'd post info on each season- 30 colors that suit the season best, what fabrics/styles are best for certain body types/frames, today's trends, and so forth. I could make it a four-parter, for simplicity's sake.

( Memes. Don't trust them. They're just for fun. )

I also posted recently to fanficrants about the "Millennium Tauk." In short: there is no such thing. It's a bad romanization. You can read the rant and the full details over at the comm, but you can also check out this image I scanned in from the Gospel of Truth... The kana on the left side (bold text) says "Sennen TAUKU no mitoo seshi chikara" which means "The power of the Millennium TAUKU is that of prediction/seeing into the future."

Now, the kanji is that of the word meaning "necklace" but the katakana beside it, for the word 'torque/torc' is wrong. It should be TORUKU. And just because Takahashi spelled it that way in the manga does NOT make it "canon." It's like claiming that "cannon" = "canon" because you spelled it that way in your book. NO! Even in Japanese, a misspelling is a misspelling. I don't think Takahashi intended it; most Japanese wouldn't know what a torque is, anyway (do you? It's a kind of necklace. But then again, DUH!) hence the use of the "necklace" kanji. And loan words from other languages are always tricky when it comes to Japanese kana-izing, and eventual romanization (back) into English.

But please, people... call it a necklace, or call it a torque/torc. Not a TAUK. There's no such thing.