big gun(s)

My new yoko (from Gurren Lagann) figure turned up last night. It's really rather nice, although there's a bit of dodgyness with the gun.

I've got a few figures where they're holding things like guns. They're always separate items that you have to slot in, but normally if they're long (like a pole or a spear) the item itself breaks in two so that you can easily slide it between their fingers and then pop on the end pieces.

However, with this yoko figure, the gun doesn't break and you have to bend her fingers in order to get the gun in. I mean, obviously they're plastic so her fingers do bend and go back to how they were, but still it's a bit of a heart-stopping moment prizing her fingers apart. It's certainly not something I'd want to do over-and-over again.

Also started watching Ai Yori Aoshi last night - got through six eps. I'm a little disappointed, tbh. The first three eps were really nice - sort of a romantic comedy/slice of life thing with ecchi that looked like it was going to be something a bit special. Then suddenly, in episode four it degenerates into a fairly standard harem style show.

Not that I don't like those sorts of shows, just the sudden change was a bit of a shock, plus I've seen loads of those already. What the first 3 eps were was something different and a bit more interesting.

It's weird - it changes so suddenly it's almost like they had one writer and then he suddenly got fired when the studio found out that he wasn't doing a proper harem show. I'm sure it's actually based on a manga where the same thing happens, but still it's a really sudden shift.

Well, my 4 day weekend beckons. Hopefully I'll get everything done that I want/need to, but either way it's going to be nice to have a bit of time away from work.

thinking in moments

Part of the problem I have with the way my imagination seems to work when I'm writing is that it operates in snatched, often very visual moments.

Take for instance this piece. It's currently the third part of a longer piece. But it didn't start that way.

It started as a random cool thing that I thought up and wrote down. I then wove it into the story--indeed, the story almost developed around that piece. The part went through about 5 revisions, but that opening line--servos stuttering into life--never really changed.

This is really a mixed bag. It can be really frustrating having only a "cool bit" and not being able to properly weave anything else around it.

It can also be annoying. Sometimes by the time I've thought of the plot some other cool bit will be in my imagination which has absolutely no relevance the the previous cool bit.

But on the other hand, it can be exciting not knowing quite what's going to pop out of my head next.

stuck in

I'm really getting stuck into all the stuff I had stacked up from the last few months.

I've finished Genshiken and all the extras. Great show and nice to have stuff like director interviews and other extras on anime DVDs, even if they don't really add any particular insight. Expect a review over on trismugistus.com whenever I get around to it.

I'm also about half way through the piled up anime magazines I need to scan, so that's good. As I've mentioned I watch anime fansubs while I'm scanning.

So far I've attacked:

• Persona Trinity Soul: I was surprised, it seems quite good. Some of those homoerotic undertones going on I feel, but I've no problems with that, just an observation.
• Mnemosyne: This I really liked. There's nothing truly new or unique about the show, and it cherry picks a lot of good ideas/concepts, but I quite like how it's all come together. It's also pretty damn adult in tone, which is at least some relief from all the moe and cutesy that anime can be at times.
• Kanokon: Again, I actually liked it. It's one of those shows were a dweeby/wimpy male protagonist finds himself subject to the affections of just about every girl that knows him (whether overt and in-your-face or more subtle and hidden). They're never realistic shows and should never be taken for more than what they are, but this one is reasonable enough. Though perhaps my opinion is swayed by the two things that set kanokon apart: the use of spirits (which translates into catgirls and other mildly furry elements) and fanservice that borders on pornography. I'm a sucker for those things.
• Kure-nai: just started, so I haven't formed an opinion yet... other than it has the most misleading opening title animation I've ever seen. It and the show seem to be at almost complete opposites :/.

What else?

Oh yeah - watched I Am Legend. What can I say? Disappointing somehow doesn't quite cover it. I mean I quite like Will Smith and there are some nice bits, but I dunno, the film just felt really flat somehow. Not sure if I'll review it or not.

Also watched the first disk in the first Gurren Lagann release. It's currently being released as three * 2-diskers with (virtually) no extras and sub only, though I understand there will be a more 'normal' release later in the year. I'm into new episodes (ie more than I'd seen from fansubs) now and I'm not disappointed.

One of the advantages of stopping fansubs after 3/4 eps is that when I watch the DVDs it's not like rewatching a show - it's new to me. The disadvantage is that I can become disappointed if it tails off later in the series and it can feel like I've wasted my money.

With Gurren (and the same will happen with Geass) I'm also a little hampered that I've built it up (hyped it) to such a degree in my own head that the show is predestined to be disappointing. The cure is to wait for ages before watching so it feels 'fresh' but it's also this mental build up that makes it difficult to wait :/.

zombie world

Do you think in zombie world, All Bran (the popular, high fibre breakfast cereal) is called All Brain? And contains nothing but brain... maybe fortified with Vitamins and Iron? Is there a zombie equivalent of Vitamins and Iron?

Just a thought.

to sell or not to sell

Next week-end I'm taking a long week-end. I've booked both the Friday and Monday off.

The basic intention is to have a big sort out and decide what stuff I can sell and throw out a bunch of stuff. I'm a bit of a pack-rat, so I tend to horde stuff, sticking it in boxes and hiding it away when most normal, sane people would just throw it away.

I've loads of DVDs and manga and books and comics, but I've got conflicting emotions and am in a bit of a quandary over how far I should go. A big part of me wants to get rid of everything.

Here are the factors:

• I've already read/watched them once/twice/several times and I have literally hundreds if not thousands of hours of unwatched stuff that I will get stuck into before ever getting the chance to look at the old stuff again.
• They take up a hell of a lot of space that I really don't have.
• They also need to be lugged about every time I move (and are kinda a big factor in me not moving).
• There's an emotional connection - these are the things that define 'me'.
• Conversely, I feel like sometimes I'm too materialistic about stuff and feel a bit weighed down by all the stuff I own.
• Since I'm trying to stop buying everything and anything, they kinda represent the 'classics' that I can watch over and again, so they aren't 'dead weight'.
• They represent locked up capital and I could really do with the cash their sale would generate.
• Another big factor, especially for the DVDs, is that of redundancy. I got hit quite badly when DVDs came in with loads of VHS that were basically unsellable. However, it's not quite the same thing here - it's not like DVD looks bad, like VHS did. Also, to go blu-ray I'd need to complete upgrade my TV and stuff as well, so that's not going to happen for a long time.

Hmm....

What I'm tempted to do is be merciless and get rid of what I can on e-bay. But stuff I'm really reticent to sell I can use "buy it now" and fix them at a fairly high price so that if they do sell, I won't fell like I've given them away.

The problem with this strategy is e-bay does tend to hit you with high charges if you put things on with large prices and then if they don't sell it tends to wipe out any money you do make from normal auctions.