MILES to GO || before I sleep

Every time I go away from Dreamwidth blogging for a while, Dreamwidth goes and gets more awesome. I decided to nix my Premium account because even though I love the site and service, I was using it so rarely I couldn't justify the expense, especially when I've got my own domain and am often trying to post to my various WordPress-powered blogs on sites there.

The problem is, my sites are so new, so thin on content, that I don't have that built-in community.

This gets crossposted to LiveJournal, and why? Well, LJ has been around even longer than Dreamwidth, but LJ also had so so so many issues when Six Apart sold it (even before that, when Brad sold it to Six Apart). I really didn't like a lot of those changes, and I saw a lot of my fellow LJers move over to Dreamwidth. The communities sometimes followed, but not always.

I have a permanent account on LJ, which means it's not supposed to go anywhere, ever. Theoretically, all the interconnected services there are these days should mean that it's EASIER to cross-post and always stay up-to-date, but the real experience of LJ and DW are the Friends List/Reading Page, and these days, if I'm reading anything for a prolonged period of time, it's Facebook. Yes, there are fan communities there too, but it's very much NOT the same.

I never really divided my fandom self from my "real" self-- I'm not afraid to tell people who I am on Facebook or deviantArt or wherever, and I've never particularly cared about "IRL" friends or family finding out about my fandom activities.

"Judge not, lest ye be judged" I guess.

( Long-winded entry continues here... )

There's a lot of discussion floating around the web about what the 2013 Sailor Moon anime announced by Nico Nico Douga at a Tokyo event this past summer will be about.

Will it be closer to the original manga?
Is it a reboot of the original anime?
A remake?

No one "in the know" is talking right now, so that leaves fans (and those of us old-school enough to call ourselves "Moonies") speculating. Here are my questions for the future of the Sailor Moon anime:

IF IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE TRUER TO THE MANGA...

1. Does that mean we'll get to see Minako's "original" origin story, taking place in Japan (and a few other wild places like China and Greece), along with Kaitou Ace?

2. Will "evil" be more black-and-white instead of having a tragic backstory, being manipulated by a greater power, etc.?
2a. Will we see Queen Beryl's "tragic" backstory along with the origins of Queen Metallia?
2b. Will Rubeus and some members of the Black Moon Clan be mere one-shot characters meant to be destroyed by powered-up Senshi, while Demando and others are more fleshed-out and possibly tragic (because they were being manipulated by the Death Phantom)?
2c. Does that mean some enemies will die quicker than they did in the original anime, where they may have repented (Nephlite), been healed (the Akayashi Sisters, the Amazon Quartet), or been "reborn" without the influence of evil (Galaxia)?

3. Does that mean the Senshi will have more, fewer, or the same amount of powers, attacks and abilities? (In the manga, they had powers that never showed up in the anime, like Mars' "Snake Fire," or Jupiter's "Coconut Cyclone." But the anime also had original attacks, usually one-shot ones, like Mars' "Fire Soul Bird" and Jupiter's "Thunder Dragon")
3a. Does that mean the Senshi will have less focus, because their stories will be like "filler episodes," similar to Chibiusa's Picture Diary, the High School Exam Battles, etc. and Usagi will be the primary character throughout the main storyline?
3b. Does that mean Usagi will be more mature, as she was in the manga? (In the manga, she didn't cry nearly as much, was VERY mature about her sacrificial decisions and those of others, dealt with grief in a very different way, was much more determined in her role as a Sailor Senshi/a lot less silly, etc.)

4. Will it still take place during the original timeline of 1992, or will the timeline be bumped up to modern day, similar to the Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon live action TV series?
4a. Does that mean the fashion, activities, and accessories of the characters will change (cf. PGSM, where Usagi's transformation "pen" got turned into a cell phone)

IF IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE A REBOOT... (in that it will feature new plot arcs, possibly new characters, or new look at the same classic story, similar to how PGSM did with the first season of Sailor Moon--it somewhat followed the manga, but was very original in many ways too)

5. Will it follow any of the plot lines from the PGSM drama, such as...
5a. Princess Serenity is the one who destroyed the Moon Kingdom (a.k.a. Silver Millennium)
5b. Minako is already an idol
5b1. Minako is dying from an unnamed disease
5c. Mercury turns dark before/instead of Mamoru/Endymion
5d. Mars doesn't consider herself a "friend" of any of the Sailor Senshi, even Usagi, though she has an interesting, tolerable relationship with Minako
5e. Princess Sailor Moon exists, and will destroy shit
5f. The plot will stop after the first season
5g. If there is a "special," OVA, feature film, or other sort of continuation, it will take place in the far future, be it when the Senshi are in/graduated from college, Crystal Tokyo (if the original manga/anime's plots are followed at all), or similar.

6. Will we see original characters from PGSM, Sera Myu, or characters briefly mentioned in the manga like Mio, Sailor Heavy Metal Papillon, etc?

7. What about characters that were unique to the original anime, like Yuuichirou?

8. Will it even focus on the original Sailor Senshi, and not Chibiusa and her team, the Sailor Starlights, a team in a different solar system/time period/galaxy?

9. Will it even have the same storylines at all, or will it have a fixed number of episodes in which any and all story arcs must be divided into?

IF IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE A REMAKE... (different from a "reboot" in that it will follow the SAME plot as the original anime, but have improved animation, stereo/5.1 surround sound, HD video, more special effects, etc. and MAYBE update a few things like cloud storage instead of CDs/floppy disks)

10. Will it have protracted transformation sequences like the ones from Pre Cure, Toei's current magical girl franchise?

11. Will Toei even be responsible for animating it? (Does Naoko Takeuchi have the rights to get it animated by another company if she so chose?)
11a. Who would be good at animating a formerly multi-million yen franchise, if you could pick any other studio currently operating right now?

12. Will the remake produce all-new merchandise, like the coveted Star Locket, if a version of it exists in the new anime? (This ties into the question about series length too, because while modern anime tend to have a preset, known number of episodes, Sailor Moon as a series is a known cash-cow, and it might be in the best interests of the license holders to either name a huge number, like the former anime series' 200 or simply not announce how many episodes the whole series will go, but go an episode at a time, adding story or prolonging story arcs as necessary.)

AND FOR ALL OF THE ABOVE....

13. Will it be dubbed into English/Cantonese/Mandarin/Spanish/Portuguese/Thai/Polish/etc. and will English-speakers be able to get DAMNED TALENTED VOICE ACTORS who commit to a continuous contract until series' end, barring horrible disagreements with their co-workers, bosses, Naoko Takeuchi herself, or Acts of God?

What brought all this on, you may ask? I've been watching the original Sailor Moon anime with my boyfriend lately, and he's asked me what I like about the current arc we're on (R2), how it compares to the manga (which he's skimmed through my Kodansha English volumes of) etc. I've come to the conclusion that much as I love the original source material, the R arc of the anime--and all its changes--will always be near and dear to my heart.

Also, Ai no Senshi (the song).

Mooniecode [1.14.15a]
SM:6m+ F:sMo>Ma++ΩPl<+ Sa>+:vAyall>+ Asall<+:aMo>+Ka+:pR2 D:sCh-:vZoEs--:aSh:pSS X:a68dic|200jp+Ω:m60jp|60mx|35xm+ O:d+:c--:s-:o?a-:h++:x- P:a++:s155:w?:f: eGBrg:hBrD+:t--:cWJ:bA-:zAr++:gf+Ω

Well, after much anticipation, I finally got my hands on Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Volume 2. And of course, I'm going to review it. How does it fare against the Mixx version? Is it a good translation compared to the Japanese re-release from the early 2000s? What new facts or possibilities does it uncover? Read on to find out!

( Moon Power 2000! )

So tomorrow is the official release date of the new version of the Sailor Moon manga in English, and the first time Sailor V has been translated in any official capacity. Because I'm a late-pre-orderer, I'm getting mine tomorrow, rather than having gotten it already, the way some lucky cats (*koff*Brad*koff*) have.

What I've read of Brad's tweets (he's moonkittynet if you didn't know) so far makes me nervous. You could say I'm "living nervously," which is apparently going to become the next big Sailor Moon in-joke, and I've been abusing it so throughly today without even having read the first volume of the re-translated Sailor Moon manga where is appears, I should be probably be fined (or, you know, rewarded by Luna, since "living nervously" is apparently a good thing in her eyes).

Anyway, Kodansha has done what I personally consider to be a good job with translating their own titles in the past, but everyone has their own standards of what makes for a good transation. I watched a YouTube video recommended by Brad in his tweets, by a guy nicknamed OtaKing, who did a five-part "documentary" which was more or less a rant about how fansubbers have become cliquey, elitist, and generally lazy while bringing more awesome anime to English-speaking audiences. Like many of his other commenters, I generally agree with OtaKing's (and Brad's) perspective on translating, which surprised me a bit, since I got into learning Japanese because of my love for anime and manga, and I do understand the difficulty in translating things like Japanese's honorifics, or the politeness levels in speech. Rather than translate something that is "English" but sounds bizarre, out of place, or stilted, I think it's perfectly sensible to contextualize and make the speech fit the language. The examples OtaKing gives are sometimes extreme, and I disagree that some of the phrases he said "don't sound like English" actually do, but I guess it depends on the kinds of speech you're used to reading and hearing, which in turn has a lot to do with your education. And that's a whole other can of worms.

As for Sailor Moon, my attitude right now, before having received anything and only glanced at the few screenshots Brad posted on Twitter, is "anything's better than Mixx, right?" I'm still going to keep my original Japanese manga (or the 12-volume re-release and what little I have of the "true" original set...mine really has no value considering the stupid stuff that's been done to it over the years), but I plan on buying the complete English release.

Brad did say that Miss Dream's translations were better, and I'll frankly have to judge for myself. Not because I think Miss Dream's scanlations are bad in anyway, but that it feels awkward to have them up when Sailor Moon is finally, finally re-licensed for manga, and not just by some cute little startup that has no sense of money management (Tokyopop!) but by the American branch of the original publisher, a powerhouse of manga in Japan! I don't want even the best-intentioned of translators to screw things up for us Moonies. We all want to see a great Sailor Moon published, and here's hoping Kodansha responds to feedback when given, but we have had nearly two decades to set our standards so high. I just hope they realize that, if Miss Dream continues to translate the manga despite the licensing. After all, Alex Glover kept his translations at Kurozuki.com live until the re-release announcement, because Mixx/Tokyopop's translations just stunk that badly, long before TP went under (dare I say "got flushed?" Haha!).

Here's what I'm hoping for:
* The original names, not translated meanings like "Bunny" or dub-isms (or any other anime-isms) like Amy and Raye, no matter how close they "might" sound to the original.
* Accurate, consistent translating of everything, from minor character names to locations and attacks.
* Not a metric fuckton of translator's notes, sidebars, glossaries, or other things that aren't in the original Japanese re-release of the manga. I can understand the usual honorific chart that Kodansha puts in all of their manga lately, but Brad and OtaKing are right: the translation should read naturally in English, and honorifics interrupt that flow. You usually CAN translate them, or else adapt the speech to fit the context. Still, it is hard to explain that the way Michiru and Haruka (whom we won't meet for some volumes yet) speak to one another is very indicative of their close relationship, versus the kind of relationship Usagi and the girls have with one another, or even the relationship Usagi and Mamoru have. So...I'm actually in the middle.
* A normal, readable comic font, nothing fancy or crazy. Sure, it might be the speech of a dark villain, but if it's not readable, what the hell is the point?
* No flipping or cutting of pages. No editing of lines (drawn lines, that is) to make things "appropriate." Know your audience Kodansha: while there might be a handful of Tweens reading Sailor Moon for the first time, the vast majority of readers will be those of us that were there from (more or less) the beginning. As such, we're old enough to handle the suggestion of breasts. *shock!*

That's not too much to ask, right? What are your expectations? If you've got your hands on the manga already or will by the time you read this, what do you think?

So I went to Anime Expo this past weekend, and I was all geared up to cosplay Sailor Saturn. I was also willing to go as Kayabuki, the Prime Minister from Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex 2nd Gig, since my boyfriend David was going as the Laughing Man and his friend Liam as Gouda, but the costume is far from comfortable in the heat, and I couldn't get her short hairstyle quite right. What was supposed to be a one or two-day costume ended up being my ONLY costume (and probably not a very obvious one at that, which, to me, halfway ruins the point of cosplay), though I ended up wearing "street clothes" for the other days. It's one thing to wear a red skirtsuit that I already own, quite another to get a custom-made Sailor Saturn seifuku from an FIDM graduate on commission for $390.

Originally, the commissioner, Ashli of Loserific Commissions, told me we'd meet up sometime on Day 1. I went to the Opening Ceremonies and texted her, but got no reply. As the day wore on, I texted her a few more times, asking stuff like "Hello?" until I finally called her. I left a voicemail that basically said if I didn't hear from her, I'd have to contact Paypal (where I'd made the payments) and file a claim for goods not received. Later, I got a flood of texts from Ashli apologizing, saying that she'd just gotten her phone (why didn't she have it on her? I don't know.) and that she would do her best to get the costume done by Day 3, Sunday.

Not cool, but not horrible, either. She said we'd meet early on Sunday, leaving me with two full days of the con to cosplay.

Sunday rolls around and I still haven't heard from her about where or when to meet. When she finally does text me, she says that she hasn't been able to finish the costume, that she doesn't want to deliver something to me that isn't the quality I'm likely expecting, and that she will give me 10% off and ship it to me for free--by the end of this week (that's this Friday).

Reluctantly, I agreed to this, even though I only go to two cons a year as of late (Anime Expo and Anime LA--one in January, the other in July). I commissioned Ashli back in mid-March, and I've been excitedly waiting for the costume since then. Dad and I pretty much slaved over the Silence Glaive prop that was the one component of the costume that Ashli couldn't provide, and now it's sitting, useless, at Adam's apartment.

It's Thursday evening now, and I haven't heard from Ashli about whether the costume is done, what problems she was having (did she take on too many projects? Were others that she was already working on better-paying? Due sooner?), or if she's already sent it with tracking. If she said she'll "get it to me by Friday," then shouldn't I have heard SOMETHING by now?

I don't want to give up and just ask for a refund, but I know I have to draw the line somewhere or lose my investment. I would be really disappointed if the first "major" cosplay commission I got, or a fellow Moonie, shafted me in this way. But I think if she still can't come through by tomorrow, I'm going to ask for a steeper discount (refund), and if I haven't gotten it by the middle of the month, I'll file a claim with Paypal or ask for a complete refund. It would frankly suck, but maybe I could find another SM commissioner in time for Anime LA in January.

( On what makes for a good cosplay )

Second to last day, folks. Hard to believe it's already been a month! These posts have been bought to you by the letters S and F...for Sailor Failures.

( ♥ » Day 29 – Solar System Soldiers or Sailor Starlights? )

I'm early/on-time, dagnabbit! In the spirit of the other recent posts asking about "Sailor Moon moments that make you feel...,"here's a new one, about humor. Now, there's me: a girl who supposedly has no sense of humor, or if she does, a dark, dry one. (My humor is a mothball?)

But I find the stuff at Sailor Failures quite funny!

( ♥ » Day 25 – Funniest Sailor Moon moment )

I'm a little late for this one, too, but in my defense, I was enjoying some really good meatloaf (!), mashed potatoes, and brownies with my dad and bf. :)

We're getting close on the days here! Even if I am a bit late with some of my posts, I hope to say on March 30 that I have completed all 30 of these topics, and I'm still inspired to write and create things...not just for Sailor Moon or even fandom in general, but EVERYTHING! I do believe this kind of "free challenge" has helped in ways other assignments or challenges have not.

Still, I know I take on more than I can usually handle, which leads to stress, which leads to...projects being left undone. It'd be nice if I had a more formal structure telling me where to go next, what's the most important or what's the easiest to get done soonest, that kind of thing. Wouldn't it be nice if there was some sort of auto-prioritizer that could take things like skill, time, and resources available into account?

Anyway, these are from Frizzy over at Sailor Failures.

( ♥ » Day 23 – Sailor Moon moment that makes you happy )

Okay, so I'm a few hours late for this one, too, but you wouldn't know it by my backdating technique...! But I feel compelled to be honest. What can I say, I was distracted by good food, a hot man, and anime! A wonderful combination, if I do say so myself.

Once again, this thought-provoking post is brought to you by the amazing Frizzy of Sailor Failures.

( ♥ » Day 21 – One thing you wished the show had )

Once again brought to you by Sailor Failures on Tumblr. A macro a day keeps the youma away!

( ♥ » Day 19 – Sailor Moon episodes Subbed or Dubbed? )

Ugh, I'm a little late again...but in my defense, I spent a TON of time today on Sailor Moon-releated things! For example, catching up on Sailor Failures, which is a truly hilarious and thought-provoking assortment of mostly-Sailor Moon related things.

( ♥ » Day 18 – Manga or anime? )

Day 16! We're now officially more than halfway through the 30 Days of Sailor Moon meme, and it's been really fun so far. I can't wait to get back into the SM fandom and do more revisions on the fic-currently-titled "Only 16." More on that later.

Anyway, this meme is brought to you by Frizzy of Sailor Failures on Tumblr.

( ♥ » Day 16 – Best Inner Soldier attack )

I'm back, I'm bold, maybe even--ah hell, how many times have I opened a post with that line? I clearly love alliteration too much. Or similar-sounding words. Like Sailor Failures!

( ♥ » Day 14 – Best dressed Soldier )

The meme...dun dun dun da dun dun dun da da da da!

Yes, it's time for 30 Days of Sailor Moon, Day 12! It's the day after the iPad 2 launch and it's still crazy here at the Apple Store San Francisco. I've got a sore throat/cough and a sniffly/stuffed nose, but it's all good! I'm eating beef portobello with broccoli and potatoes for lunch, and it's comfort food of the healthy variety. Win!

Considering yesterday's topic, today's shouldn't be that much of a surprise. Wonder why the Outer System Senshi got this question before the Inner Senshi?

Once again, brought to you by Sailor Failures on Tumblr. Tumblr is a weird service, and even though I have one, I don't really (know how to) use it. I personally WANT to comment on things, and it bums me out when I can't. Sailor Moon Secrets being on Tumblr is cool, but it seems to take away the fun that the other fandom secrets comms have. Too bad the one on LJ has apparently died out? *shrug*

( ♥ » Day 12 – Favorite Inner Soldier (and why) )

I'm glad I started this 30 Days of Sailor Moon Meme from Sailor Failures on Tumblr on March 1st, because I never have to remember what day I'm on...I just look at my calendar!

And now it's Day 9! Time for ( ♥ » Day 09 – Least favorite villain )

Sometimes my devotion to canon irritates me. It's a like a mole I can't remove without surgery. In the spirit of my new class in Instructional Design, here are a few facts:

Given a birthday of June 30 for the character of Usagi Tsukino/Serena from Sailor Moon
AND
Given a typical start month for new school in the month of April in Japan (with the exception of university, which starts in September)
AND
Given the need for high school entrance exams that typically take place in February or March (presumably right before the April when high school would start, but I'm not sure...would they be taken the February/March the year before? That would imply that Year 3 junior high students already know what high schools they've gotten into!)

How is it even remotely feasible for Usagi to be age 16 and still in junior high?

I don't think it is.

The Japanese school system generally follows this numbering: 6, 3, 3, 4. There are six years of primary school (elementary grades 1-6), three years of junior high (grades 7-9), three years of high school (grades 10-12), and four years of university.

If Usagi was 14 years old, as she stated in the first season's early episodes, and in the eighth grade, in 1992, that would give her a birth year of 1978. If eighth grade is her second year of junior high, she still has a year left.

Thus:

Age Range/Year	Grade	Sailor Moon Anime Season Equivalent	Only 16 Universe	Date Range for Usagi/Serena
12-13	7 (Year 1)	N/A; only Code Name: Sailor V manga	N/A; only Code Name: Sailor V manga	June 1990-June 1991
13-14	8 (Year 2)	Season 1/Classic, part 1 of Season 2/Returns	Season 1/Classic	July 1991-June 1992
14-15	9 (Year 3)	part 2 of Season 2/Romance	Season 1/Classic, part 1 of Season 2/Returns	July 1992-June 1993 (high school entrance exams in Feb/March 1993 for the O16 universe)
15-16	10 (Year 1/HS)	Sailor Moon S, Sailor Moon SuperS	part 2 of Season 2/Romance	July 1993-June 1994
16-17	11 (Year 2/HS)	Sailor Moon Sailor Stars	part 2 of Season 2/Romance, Sailor Moon S, Sailor Moon SuperS, Sailor Moon Sailor Stars	July 1994-June 1995 (high school entrance exams in Feb/Mar 1995 or SuperS season in the regular SM universe)
17-18	12 (Year 3/HS)	N/A	N/A	July 1995-June 1996

...So, if I've got all this right, even if Usagi is a bit older than her classmates, being born the June before, and for whatever reason, she wasn't a younger student in an OLDER class (e.g. the year before Ami, Makoto, Minako, and Rei at their schools), there's still no way she'd be 16 and still in junior high.

If she's 16, it's past June 30, 1994. If it's past June 30, 1994, but the other girls are still in junior high, then it's not yet February/March of the year they take their high school entrance exams. So how...? Or do I just have to "screw it" and:

a) Make Usagi 15
b) Remind people that the Silver Crystal "reset" time-space, and the year or more that was filled with the Dark Kingdom's activities essentially got "done over"
c) Have Usagi be older because she flunked a grade or had something wrong with her as a child that kept her from going to school on time
d) use a different school system--one that starts in August/September or so, instead of April.
e) Change the title

How do I handle this? I really don't want to change the title, but I don't want it to be a "pointless" title, either. At some point in the story, Usagi's got to be 16, but if she's 16, then the exams would have happened and she (and the other girls) would be in high school! But the high school entrance exams are a huge thing in Japan (where the story DOES take place, even if I do use dub names...or have used them in the past, I'm still undecided on whether I want to use them for the "Only 16" revision), and I don't want to add that kind of stress onto Usagi, or handwave it and make it non-existent.

The only other option I can think of is for Usagi to NOT go to high school, or, if it's possible, to go to high school late. Somehow with all her friends and everyone, I can't see THAT happening either, but I don't see how else to make the timeline work.

I think I've painted myself into a corner. Help!

Welcome, welcome, welcome, to the crazy fannish brain that is Mer's...or Andi's...or Azurite's. You know, I've gone through quite a few fandom nicknames in my time, but most people know 'em all. And they're certainly no secret.

I'm usually not secretive with my favorite pairings, either. Usually I'm the first to jump on the bandwagon of "proclaiming love and joy for ('SHIP NAME GOES HERE)!" And then there's this.

Day 6 of the 30 Days of Sailor Moon meme, again using the list from Sailor Failures on Tumblr.

( ♥ » Day 06 – Couple you wished existed )

It's that time of day again, time for the 30 Day Sailor Moon Meme, brought to you by Sailor Failures on Tumblr.

( ♥ » Day 04 – Best friendship )

Back once again with Day 2/30 in the Sailor Moon meme, from Sailor Failures on Tumblr.

( ♥ » Day 02 – Favorite character when you were younger )

Back in late August, I wrote a Star Wars/Sailor Moon crossover for sailormoonland that, for reasons unknown, wasn't included in the Criss-Cross challenge's entries or results. Not sure if I submitted it too late or it was just too darn long (it was too long for a textarea, I know that much), but now that the results are out, I'm free to post it all over the great wide Intarwebz!

Title: Hope
Rating: G/K/For Everyone
Genres: Gen/Sci-Fi

Spoilers: For Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and Sailor Moon Sailor Stars (season 5 of the anime)

Word Count: 1851
Status: Oneshot, Complete

Summary: Princess Leia Organa is captured by the Empire, and the plans for the Death Star she painstakingly worked to deliver to the Rebel Alliance may have been lost...but a cell mate aboard the battle station gives her hope.

Hope

So I never actually said what swag I got at Anime Expo! For me, at least, swag a big part of the con-going experience. Panels can be fun (or totally lousy, depending on scheduling, "technical difficulties" and other stupid things), and screenings can be a blast (or put you to sleep because there's no variety and the lines stink), but I mainly go to cons these days for the following things:
* Friends
* AMVs
* Swag
* Cosplay
in that order. All told, I "got" all of those things at Anime Expo, so you could say I had a good time.

( Swagalicious! )

So I'm overall satisfied with what I got, even though the Expo itself wasn't as good this year as last year. That's really a much longer story, but suffice it to say, they were just very disorganized. That makes people irritable and rude, and that makes other people miserable.

( To get...eventually )

So if you happen to be selling any of these or know where I can get them cheap, drop me a line!

So rather than wail about all the Post-Its I have lying around with things to do, my near-empty Listography book, and the things I wish were working out, instead, a list of things I've accomplished today, big and small:

* Read a lot of emails and deleted the ones I don't need (have several thousand to go, but boo hoo)

* Heard back from both Adobe and JourneyEd regarding CS5: I have to spend $449 if I want it, because I don't qualify for the post-announce free upgrade, and there's no discount for an "upgrade" version of Design Premium from CS4 to CS5. So that, plus a camera are now on my Wish List.

* Got approved for the "In Plain Sight" - Mary x Marshall fanlisting - now I just need a name for it! YAY!?

* May be on the waiting list for a focus group and put my name out there for another one; they pay well and don't take long, so why not?

* Put the dishes away

* Registered for the NSCS Region 5 Summit in Seattle, WA on July 6th and 7th. It's my last conference as an NLC member (well, a "retiring" NLC member)!

* Am researching travel options for getting up to Seattle, esp. so soon after cousin Erin's wedding in Los Angeles on the 4th. Virgin America and Southwest are looking the cheapest, since the Amtrak Coast Starlight just doesn't mesh with my needed arrival and departure times. (Also: Anime Expo from July 1-4! So 1-3 = Anime Expo, 4 = Wedding + Fireworks, 5 = ? 6-7 = Seattle! Talk about a packed schedule for one week!)

* Also researching potential post-graduation travel options. Should I go down to San Diego after my orthodontist's appointment, and then head back up with Aunt Joyce in time for the bridal shower, or hang out in North Hills with cousin Jill and fam for a few days and meet up with Joyce on the day of the shower? Train ticket to S.D. would cost me $30-32, but it's more like "What the heck would I do down there?" and "Would I be intruding?" I suppose I should ask at least, so I have the option open, right?

* Got a huge scene done in the revision of Only 16, Chapter 2: A Look Back, which starts the flashbacks that reveal more about Serenity and Endymion's past. I'm contemplating deleting those from Endymion's point of view altogether, since Only 16 really is Serena's story, and even if Darien DOES remember his past completely and is just hiding it from Serena, why give him THAT much screen time? Isn't it more suspenseful having you wonder how things are really going from his end? I've only gone into his POV a few times in the revision so far, and never very deeply. But re-reading Lilac Summers' "First Truths" has made it a lot easier to 'ship them again (*shock!*).

* Updated WikiFic to 1.15.3, and added the much-debated lyrics of "Ahead of the Game." Mass consensus agrees that the garbled lyrics in the second verse are "My liquidity, giant balance sheet. All my secrets, Hey! I'll even cheat." Though how "I'll even cheat" makes sense when Kaiba (whose image song this is) is bragging about how much smarter, more creative, etc. he is than his opponent, isn't cheating making him look worse, not better? I personally think he should have said "I won't even cheat," as if he's restraining himself from cheating just to get a horrible duel over with. What do you think?

* Got started on my graduation announcements--the paper ones. A few family members left to get addresses for and send out, and then...have to figure out the rest. *bats eyelashes* Can YOU come?

MOAR LEFT:
* Dabble in revisions and/or additions to the following fics: Aftermath of Angels (FF8 x YGO), You and Me (body-swap YGO Azureship fic; thanks a lot for reminding me, mischiefmagnet!)
* Story-So-Far comparison of the book Paprika to the movie
* Revisions to previous chapters of WDKY + uploading to all the usual suspect sites -- someone on AnimeXX.de asked me if they could do a German translation of the fic! I can't read German to save my life, so should I say yes and just pray they do a decent job, or say no because I'd never be able to understand it?

Another meme. I'm bored.

Comment on this post saying you want to do this. I will choose seven interests from your profile and you will explain what they mean and why you are interested in them. Post this along with your answers in your own journal so that others can play along.

Ganked from rose_of_pollux, so she selected the seven interests; feel free to ask about other ones, but then expect me to ask about yours!

( Interesting! )

I really, really hate thieves, of pretty much any kind. Except MAYBE the fictional ones, and those only rarely.

Several talented Sailor Moon fanartists have had their work stolen by this person on DeviantART. I've already begun reporting the Deviations, but I could use your help locating the original artists of many more of these works--I honestly don't believe very many of this user's deviations are theirs at all, and if you happen to recognize another artist's work in this person's gallery, I'd appreciate you either reporting the deviation or supplying me with a link to the original art so I can.

One such artist is Alan Guiterrez (stardriv on DA), and what I find especially laughable is that some of the "Artist's Comments" for the stolen paintings (which Alan did as a commission and charged $2400 for the whole series, so some diehard fan is considerably less wealthy after getting these paintings and deserves to have them indicated as FOR HER BY HIM on HIS terms) try to "credit" Alan by a) spelling his name wrong and b) not even bothering to link to a site where his work can be found, such as...uh, his DeviantART account?

Now, I'm not the biggest DA fan in the world, since they've got a pretty lousy policy on fanart as it is, and don't tend to consider Senshi edits as anything but "Scraps," but that's a post for a whole other day and time.

Your help is appreciated, Sailor Moon fans and artists!

So, I'm chilling here at SFO (San Francisco International Airport, for those that don't speak airport code). I shelled out $7.99 for a T-Mobile Hotspot Day Pass, because even though I don't visit airports (or Starbucks, or even Borders) quite often enough to get a Hotspot account/shell out $40 a month, sitting here for 3 hours nursing a Coca-Cola and reading the August issue of Wired just doesn't cut it for me. I need to be connected, which is kind of sad. I sort of miss my childhood. :P

( Tech jargon )

( More win and OSM )

I'm actually somewhat looking forward to going home, if just to sleep on my own bed (though the AeroBed Mom got was pretty damn comfortable, no matter what Eva said about it being too soft) and have steady Wi-Fi in all my usual haunts. Also, MAIL! And money. And work for a week, until I have to get my butt to DC. And in-between all that, family visits and the Orange County Fair. Should be fun.

Meanwhile, Michael Jackson's "Beat It" is stuck in my head, along with a plotbunny for a multichapter Sailor Moon fic I meant to write for sm_monthly and never got around to. I mean really, ANOTHER multichapter? I wish I could churn stuff out as fast as moodwriter, with her "Hate, Prejudice and Secret Intentions" (I think I got that title right) Dramione fic that I've been reading lately. Good stuff! I've also got to catch up on Stargirl's "Tsuki no Namida," an AR of the Silver Millennium, since the latest chapter is up for critiquing on one of the_circlet communities. I'm not a big fan of walking into a long-ish multi-chapter fic blind, so I'll start with the beginning and go from there. So far, it's got an interesting premise but some grammar issues that irk me. But hey, SAILOR MOON FIC. I ought to get writing!