MILES to GO || before I sleep

I believe I've mentioned on a few occasions my disappointment with big-name anybodys or anythings. Many of my friends recall how I detested anything related to Harry Potter, until one day katiat325 invited me to a free screening of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. The whole time, she and schmollieollie were chatting about the things different from the book, the scenes left out, the characterizations-- and they wouldn't repeat a word of it to me, the outsider who hadn't even read the books.

So I read the books-- actually borrowed from my mother. By the time I was leaving to go to CSUN, I was engrossed in the world, and Stephanie got me Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix as a going-away present. Now that the final book (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) is upon us (July 21, 2007), I'm looking back on a lot of books that have been hype or tripe. Some books deserve their hype; others (especially those from a famous author or in a long-standing series) don't really deserve the hype they get just because of the name attached.

For example, Harry Potter --both the books and the fandom as a whole-- has disappointed me over the years, because what I originally found fascinating or enchanting is now predictable or pathetic. But JKR is not a poor writer by any stretch of the imagination, and AS a writer myself, I hardly think that a writer SHOULD pander to her audience, even if said audience "pays the bills."

So then I wonder about another famous author: Danielle Steel. Before I left for Japan last year, I picked up her (then) newest book, Coming Out. It sounded different from the steamy romances I'd read from her in high school (I can't remember the exact title, but it was about a Japanese woman in an internment camp in America during World War 2). But then again, in high school, I had a lot lower standards. -_- I remember trying my hardest to read "Coming Out" but it just read like a flat, predictable piece of drivel. It's funny, because when I mentioned something similar to this (though I believe on another comm. or in another post somewhere), someone said that many of her stories have the same PLOT over and over, with the characters merely renamed. That wasn't the case with "Coming Out" at all, and in fact, had some very interesting characters and what I thought was a very interesting plot-- but it's like taking a bunch of baking ingredients and making something terrible tasting with them. There was SO much potential, but...

I ended up returning "Coming Out" and using the money I got in return to buy 3 Yu-Gi-Oh manga. Sure, I don't like what Viz does with the manga (namely their horrid design skills, and how they can't even position a rounded rectangle block of text into a bubble properly), but I still buy from them because I support them bringing Yu-Gi-Oh's original manga to English audiences in the first place. All the scanlation groups that have tried up to this point are sub-par, really. Companies like Viz have the time and money to create something truly incredible, but as with my previous analogy, I think they're taking something with potential and not doing the best they can with it. But rather than creating something "horrible tasting" with the "ingredient" that is the original Yu-Gi-Oh manga, I think they've just made something that's a bit bitter and a touch bit moldy in places. I would one day like to work for Viz, instead of writing them letters over and over ("Are you guys going to do a second edition of XYZ manga where page 10 ISN'T a duplicate of page 5?"), so I'm trying to keep that goal in mind.

Anyway, because of my disappointment with Steel, I have next to no interest in reading her NEWEST new novel, Sisters. It, too, sounds vaguely interesting, based on the description. And people always love to hype Danielle Steel for being such a "prolific" writer, for churning out as many novels as she has, for being best-selling. But what the hell does best-selling mean if not "robbed a bunch of people's wallets?" I mean, it says nothing for the actual quality of the book, only the fact that it sold. You might as well say that the In-Crowd back in high school were model students, representatives of the school or teenagers as a whole.

Yeah, right, and I'm Angelina Jolie. [/sarcasm]

I can't stand two forms of book summaries:
* the non-existent kind (i.e. you go to the back of a book, or the inside flap of a hardcover, and there is no summary-- only a photo of the author, or a short bio, or WORSE, a description of some OTHER book they wrote!)
* the obvious kind ("will so-and-so find true love amidst her family crumbling before her eyes!?")

Steel's fall into the second category, though I have seen a few of her books fall into the first, as well. And I'm sorry, but every time I see the cover art of "Toxic Bachelors" I want to cringe. WHO THE HELL DESIGNED THAT COVER!? My grandmother (Baba) has HUNDREDS, if not THOUSANDS of romance novels. I have seen every possible cover design out there, from the stereotypical (hot, Fabio-like man with his shirt half-torn open, groping or reaching for the woman with her bared shoulders and/or thighs and her hair flowing out behind her) to the tasteful (embossed, shiny text over a simple background, like a lace print, silk, jewels, etc). But the cover of that book just makes me want to cringe. I'm not even a well-versed student in the art of design (that's what my JOUR 331 - Graphics class is supposed to be about), but even I can see-- that's a stupid cover. And like the summary, the cover is what sells. If I see an interesting title or a cool-looking cover, I might just pick up that book! If the summary sounds interesting, I might just flip it open to check out the first page. If I like what I read, I MAY BUY IT!

I wish more people kept this in mind with their writing, even if it's not sold writing like Steel's drivel. I mean, is she like Anne Rice without vampires-- no one questions her authority anymore, she has no editor, no one stands against her? Or do you really have to hunt for the one gem amongst all her crap? I'm sure she has good stuff written somewhere. I hope, anyway.

Anyway, ( speaking of design... )

I had a series of weird dreams last night, but as soon as I woke up, I couldn't really remember many specifics, only a few impressions. I remembered dreaming that I'd found my PS2 memory card (*wail*), but I also remember dreaming about some BAD things, because I was feeling very freaked out and vaguely "sick in the head" when I woke up. But I think I've managed to recover okay, I just have to watch out and not get stressed. Even though Tuesday is my longest day, I don't have work on Tuesdays, and so far I've been able to handle the workload and even the teachers.

My Media Law teacher doesn't mind me taking notes on the laptop (which is great, because I can type faster than I can write!), and so far I've been able to keep up with my usual pace and style in Japanese class (by the way, Todd and I'm presuming Daniel and/or John returned from Japan today, and Todd stopped into my Japanese class to promote the Tokiwa program... that was kind of funny). Plus I got out of Media Law at 4:00 or so today, and my next class doesn't start until 6pm, so I have about an hour to chill and do whatever I like. :)

Notes:
* Need to get Death Notes vols. 6-10
* Need to watch Hana Yori Dango 2 episode 5 *AS SOON AS IT IS SUBBED* because dayum was Episode 4 good! And the teaser-trailer! :O!!!! Ah, HYD, how I MISSED you!

And to close, a rather random question: at what point did the Stormtroopers stop being clones of Jango Fett? I wonder, because a new Star Wars novel (Allegiance, taking place between episodes IV and V) features a Stormtrooper with his own unique name... though that doesn't necessarily mean he's NOT a clone, I wonder if the Empire would have kept up production of the clone troopers after the Clone Wars. Further, did they bother identifying the clones by name, as a part of their "conditioning," or were they just given numbers (TK-421, why aren't you at your post)? I wonder...

So now that Hana Yori Dango 2: Returns is airing, I'm back to thinking about the glorious TAFF that is HYD. The great thing about the drama is that while it incorporates so many of the arcs and character -isms that the manga had, it's a whole different beast in how it goes about it. For one thing, it's more modern. They picked an astounding cast-- I wasn't so sure about ANY of them at first, but they certainly proved their salt in the last season. MatsuJun has most definitely grown on me, but watching HYD2 has me leaning toward the Oguri Shun camp.

( Or should I say 'Hanazawa... Rui'? SPOILERS AHOY! )

I think this was just a very stream-of-conscious post, because my brain is all frazzled. Yup.

For those of you that ever thought that Valley Girls talked like my subject line, you'd be wrong. They did in Clueless, but not down here where I live, and I am in The Valley. Not that I can speak for the air headed teenage population, but, just so you know, I am a Valley Girl now, and I still have relatively good diction, thankyouverymuch!

Anyway, I am back in the Valley; Dad and I split from Alameda around 11am this morning and got here around 7ish. The drive was amusing, if just because of the following:

• A recollection of last night, in which I attempted to get friendly with my Dad's cat, Roy
• I also signed my dad up for eHarmony.com, and we laughed loads over my dad's answers (he was honest, don't worry!)
• We dined-and-dashed at the Apricot Tree, this horrible road-side restaurant. Service was extremely slow for both waiting, ordering, and serving, plus the usual "can I get you your water/check/ketchup/clean flatware" stuff. If we'd bothered to ask for the check and then get change, we would have been there for another hour. Do I feel bad? No. :P
• I got to explain all about the tracks I put on last year's Turkey CD compilation. Basically, it's a CD of your favorite songs that you've found in the past year, and Dad had never heard of many of my choices, which went on the 6 "Ultimate" volumes (there were 2 "original" volumes, based off the original Turkey Tapes from the 80s). Dad especially liked the addition of Elvis' "A Little Less Conversation" and John Sykes/Blue Murder's "Cautionary Warning".

Of course, my Dad picked me up pretty early yesterday night (7:30ish), so I had to rush home from Classic Bowl in Pacifica, where I'd gone with Crystal, Maggie, Richard, Evie, Eva, and Harry. Stephanie and Katia had been with us earlier in the day, but they both had other obligations that took them away early. Crystal gave me a nifty new journal, and Katia gave me a new addition for my bookmark collection-- an Aslan (Chronicles of Narnia) bookmark! YAY!

I didn't get to see "Memoirs of a Geisha" like I originally planned; the 5:50 show at the Century 21 was sold out, so that's how we ended up going bowling. I hope I'll be able to see it (and go ice skating, another canceled plan that we'd made for SF) with Scott in San Diego when I go on the 29th; I'm staying through the 2nd! Mom even gave me a nice new outfit and 2 new sweaters to wear down there, plus some hair glitter, a necklace and earrings, and a jeweled barrette. I do think I'll look smashing... ^_~

I ended up forgetting my flash drive there... keeerap! But at least Mom bought my laptop (she already gave me $80; she owes me $920. I shaved about $500 off for her payment toward my Driver's Ed lessons and the bits of money she gave me over the course of two weeks. She'll probably pay in installments, so it'll keep me afloat until I get paid for working at the bookstore (gotta call tomorrow and go in on Thursday, before I leave for SD) and the ITR job (training starts on the 9th). Worse, Jimbo and Richie put Stepmaniamax on my laptop, and I tried to burn it onto a CD and DVD, but the software or somesuch shit wouldn't let me.

So... staplerx or richlikesmaids, where did you get Stepmaniamax from? And if I can't download it or get a CD/DVD of it from either of you two, could someone please help my mom burn the CD? ^^; That would be nice...

Long story short (as I'm never good with recalling many events after not updating for a while), I've finished and sent off my fic for the dmhgficexchange, and I've got my last entry for the yuugiouxmasfic ready as well (though both are late). I had a good time with my friends, and while I ended up mostly broke (of my own funds) I did leave NOT broke, which is a good thing. I plan on buying Katamari Damacy and We Love Katamari, because I got addicted to it at the party at Bob's house (while I played Jimbo and Marc). I ended up falling asleep at the aforementioned party, during Life of Brian. ;_; I couldn't help it! Mom waking up for work at 5:30am had ME waking up around then too, so I was exhausted by 8:30pm...

WDKY22 is also done, but I'm still waiting for someone to get back to me. LuvinAoshi has updated several chapters of an FMA fic in the meantime; I wonder if I've been forgotten about? ;_; Why can't there be a mass list of people willing to beta for certain pairings in certain fandoms? a_white_rain, doesn't that sound like a good idea for a community or something? (I ask you because you're in charge of weekly_ygo)

I would like to thank pockyken, schmollieollie, winterwing3000, and rhapsody_dragon for cheering me up when I was a bit low at first! Also, MANY, MANY, MANY huge thanks to guardian_kysra for the faboo present (I will be scanning the pic part of it soon-- can I color it in Photoshop CS, too?) and the New Years Wishes. For any last minute well-wishers, please donate to Kysra's Scanner Fund! Contact me for more info or sort back through my journal a few entries to find the donation post. If we don't get enough by New Year's, I'll donate the rest myself. :)

Mom and Dad really frustrate me at times... for various reasons which I suppose I can get into later. But how many people think that sometimes their parents are much more immature than they are?

To Do:

• clean room, now that I've brought a ton of stuff with me from SF
• scan pics, including the unfinished/uncolored WDKY 1000 review/2nd Anniversary pic (inc. icon for winterwing3000) and Kysra's Christmas pic for me ^^
• free up disk space for the new Stepmania, Hana Yori Dango j-drama episodes, and Sims 2 again
• Go to the mall to get Proactiv (anyone use it before? How were your results? Is it worth the $60 for the full package?) and Katamari Damacy set
• Call the bookstore to let Mike know I'll come in for paperwork on Thursday
• Free up enough disk space to torrent/seed the Full Moon Sagashite Episodes (probably in sets of 3 episodes a piece, for ricoddr)

And finally, some fantastic news... I'm published! I think I may have announced this before, but in the time I was away, I actually got the book "Authors of Tomorrow" in which my "Success Comes Second" essay was published. Now I'm competing against 250+ other people for a $1000 scholarship from Elder & Leemaur Publishers! ^^ Wish me luck! (It'd be nice to write a funny short story/1st person POV about my recent adventures, esp. those with dad. "The Journey South" or somesuch would make a good title.)

...I feel like I'm forgetting something... but whatever. Tomorrow: Palomar with Dad and Steve. TEH YAY!

Anyone who was a Sailor Moon + (practically any other fandom) fan has either written, read, or thought about reading or writing this: a sailormoon crossover. They're so popular they have their own subsection on the 'Net, whether your fancy is general, Dragonball-themed, or perhaps Gundam-ized.

Me? I happen to like the shoujo-series gone wild versions, like Ranma becoming a Senshi... or Akane! Been there, done that. It's harder to take series that have NO magic whatsoever and try and make them magical. Think series like Peach Girl or Hana Yori Dango. The drama comes from the "all-natural" scenes-- boy loves girl, girl loves another guy, guy loves another girl... and so on, and so forth.

So how would you take a romantic drama and make it magical? Add a pop star, a time-traveling bishie, and an insane author by the name of Azurite, of course! Not that I'll actually see this through to fruition, but here's my crazy idea, born of listening to Sailormoon music, thinking of random new fic ideas, and reading too much Hana Yori Dango (jdrama + 21 vols. of the manga in the past 4 days = O_O!!!).

Sailor Moon Sailor Stars: Seiya challenges Sailor Pluto to a one-on-one match. The other Outer Senshi find out and ask Pluto why she would agree to something so stupid, but she says that things must happen this way. Uranus and Neptune watch from the sidelines, and are shocked when Pluto is "defeated" and Seiya successfully steals a Time Key-- and goes back in time, to when Usagi and Mamoru broke up in Sailormoon R. If there was ever a time to find out about how true their love is, it's then. Little does Seiya know that Usagi's experiences (in the latter parts of R, then S and SuperS) matured her, and the Usagi he meets isn't quite the one he knows... plus, there's real-live Mamoru to deal with, and a mysterious pink-haired brat...

However, the two eventually get closer, and Seiya pushes Usagi not to depend on Mamoru (and thus, Sailor Moon won't depend on Tuxedo Mask) so much. Despite the warnings of the other Inner senshi and Luna, Usagi hangs out more and more with Seiya... and Sailor Moon meets Sailor Star Fighter. The two work together splendidly, but Makoto and Rei don't trust "her."

Seiya takes Usagi to a karaoke box (PGSM references?) one night and hears her sing-- much to his surprise, she's very good. He pushes her to try out for an audition, where he uses his own musical talents to help Usagi. The two of them get accepted, and suddenly, they're caught in a whirlwind of publicity and stardom!

After many months of hard work on the stage and in the recording room, Usagi's ready to have her first live show-- and life looks good. She thinks she's at last getting over Mamoru, and the battles with the Black Moon have lessened to the point where they're over before she even has to come and "save" anyone. She's sad that the Inners don't seem to need her anymore, but if they can't encourage her dreams the way she did for them, maybe they're better off apart. It's a different Usagi-outlook, but one well-developed and well-reasoned.

However, Usagi shows just how much she misses the girls when she auditions several girls for her dancers-- one of them Tsukushi Makino (there on a dare/a last resort?), who resembles Makoto Kino. Tsukushi passes the audition, and when payday finally comes, she decides that sticking as a dancer on the sly might pay better and help her avoid the drama with the F4... (this coincides with Vol. 19-20, when Tsukushi "breaks up" with Domyoji and then disappears. Instead of going to where her parents are, she stays with Yuuki and discovers a flyer about the auditions... Yuuki encourages her to go, and find a way to channel her spirit and energy.)

No one knows where Tsukushi's gone... that is, until the night of the show. In a futile attempt to cheer Tsukasa up/Tsukasa is forced to go by his sister/mother while entertaining a spoiled rich girl who is several years his junior, he goes to the concert-- and sees Tsukushi onstage, dancing! He tries to approach her after the concert, but security threatens to throw him out. Usagi speaks to Tsukushi, who skims over her "relationship" with Domyoji. Having experienced her fair share of heartbreak, Usagi decides to try and play matchmaker and allow Domyouji to see her.

But of course, fate intervenes when the girl that Domyoji is with is attacked by the Black Moon and turned into a droid. Usagi and Seiya run off to transform, but Tsukushi, still angry with Domyouji and the fact that he was with another girl (who is now pretty busty and angry-looking, in droid-form), pushes him out-- inadvertantly blasting the droid while she's at it. Something Usagi's "accidentally" done has awakened a dormant star seed in Tsukushi, and now she's a senshi!

At last, the Inners and Usagi are reunited (Seiya wonders if he should come clean to the others about being Star Fighter and why he's *really* there... does Usagi even know the whole truth?) when Luna senses the new senshi awakening. They all arrive on the scene to see "Sailor Eitoku" blast the snot out of the droid, Fighter keep her distracted, and Sailor Moon heal the girl, who falls unconscious.

Domyouji, who had his energy sapped, is slapped into wakefulness by Tsukushi "Sailor Eitoku" Makino, but he takes one look at her and immediately passes out again. Everyone retires to the temple/Usagi's new apartment/Seiya's place and discusses the new situation... and that's when Pluto appears.

^_^ Hee, evil, aren't I? Maybe I just want an excuse to have literal outside forces mush all my OTPs (and OT3s!) together!

Today in VComm there was the historical/television presentation... and needless to say, it SUCKED. Not only did they get their facts wrong (and then try and shift the blame to me, the "dumb" audience member), but they had hideous images ripped from the 'Net, completely without attribution. (And they spelled things wrong! So many things!) And their presentation was so dry, it needed moisturizer. One thing's for damn sure, my group (cultural/world wide web) will top them.

So I guess it's time for me to have another poll, if you please...

[Poll #614459]

( Eitoku Star Power, Make Up! )

In WRP2, the Story #6 that I worked so hard on (and BSed this evening ^^;) ended up being worth extra credit only... and she may or may not even issue extra credit. Instead, we have to edit a badly written (but similar) story that she gave us tonight. That's in ADDITION to the byline clip project with bonus oral presentation that I still have to do before Thanksgiving. This week is SOOOO busy... ;_; I'm finally tired though, so maybe after some more HYD I'll go to sleep. :)

Ahhh I need to make/get icons. HYD, definitely.

Hana Yori Dango episode 2: "What is this... Harry Potter!?"
Tsukushi's trying to find her uniform in Domoyouji's mansion (after she's just verbally pwned him AGAIN), and she stumbles on a room that looks strangely like the Great Hall at Hogwarts. She actually said the above line. LOLz.

:P Okay, I'm done with the stupid now, I just had to get that out of my system. Ehehe. Heh. Heh.