Archive for the ‘Sai’ Category
Can I be anymore excited? I’m gonna go see my favorite band in concert tonight! I’m leavin’ work 2 hours early and going to head over to the Key Club in Hollywood to see Kittie! I cannot wait. Just super, über excited. And I know tomorrow my ears are going to be ringing, my heads going to be hurting, and my neck and shoulders are going to be sore, but it’s gonna be great. Ugh I wish I could bring all you guys with me, but one, I don’t have the money, and two, I know some wouldn’t enjoy it. But don’t worry I’ll have enough fun for 10 people. I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow.
Man, nothing beats an impromptu visit to Disneyland. Well, not “nothing.” I guess your own personal Jedi body guard would be pretty sweet. Not only could he protect you from bad happenings but you can use him as an excuse for your weird behavior. “It’s not my fault. He Jedi mind tricked me.~”
So anyway, last night I was able to visit Disneyland for a few hours, after work. Even though it was a short visit, it was time well spent and turned out to be a great evening. Right now Disneyland has some things set up for the Halloween season that I think are worth checking out. As per-usual they have the Haunted Mansion decked out in it’s Nightmare Before Christmas duds. Being one of my favorite movies growing up (and still is), it’s an attraction I can’t really get tired of. Aside form the Haunted Mansion Holiday, they have some new things set up for the Halloween season.
The new Halloween fireworks show is a nice addition. My understanding is that this is their first year doing it. Not just a fireworks display, but also features lights, music, keen pyrotechnics, and with some Nightmare Before Christmas aspects mixed in, it’s a pretty fun show to watch. I mean, if you’re into that sort of thing. The other new thing I got to experience is their Space Mountain Ghost Galaxy. It’s where they set up various projections of ghost, inside of Space Mountain, that flash and follow you as you go through the coaster. Actually, the ghosts look pretty scary. If I saw this as a little kid, I’d probably get some nightmares from it. So, good job Disneyland.
Oh right, I didn’t get any pictures or video of my trip. Hey, I said it was impromptu. I say, if you can, you should try and check out Disneyland’s Halloween Time, before it ghouls away. … Or some other bad pun.
I think I’ve mentioned before that I do different martial arts. Just like a Ninja Turtle! Except I’m not a mutant … or a turtle, … last time I checked. Anyway, I guess technically I do MMA. Been doing it for a while now, and lately my instructor’s been needing some help with classes. There’s only a few students he can ask assistance from and yesterday he asked me. So as of yesterday, I’m instructing a beginners Muay Thai class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It’s nothing too big or complicated, just your basic form and fitness. Instructing a class is a big thing, but I’ve been training for a few years now and I think I can properly let people in on the right forms, and what they should focus on. It’s a big responsibility, but I think I’m up to it. I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?
Sai out. (.. I’m not gonna start ending my blogs entries like that, I swear.)
You know when I started adding to this blog I didn’t think I would have much to add. As it turns out, if you keep busy enough, you’ll always have something to talk about. I almost always have something to contribute to the blog, … except for today. Hmm , well it is October, and for me the best time of year. It’s when it starts to cool down, Christmas songs start playing in my head at random, and best off all I get to look forward to my 3 favorite holidays; Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas. I love this time of year. Another thing I’ve come to look forward around this time is Cinemassare.com continuing it’s Monster Madness series.
Cinemassacre is a site done by James Rolf, who (among other things) is a horror movie buff. For the past 3 years he’s done his Monster Madness video series, where he talks about a different monster movie every day for the month in October. 31 videos in 31 days. They’re short vids but there’s a new one everyday of the month, and it’s a good way to get in the of the Halloween season. The month just started so there’s only 6 vids up so far for this year so know is a good time to jump into it.
So see? I did have something to contribute after all. … Even though I didn’t actually do anything.
This was one busy weekend. A lot of work done but at least I had time to catch a movie. When we got to the theater it was between two choices; The Invention of Lying and Zombieland. Tough choice. The reviews for both the movies had been good, but in the end we decided on Zombieland. I think we made the right choice. Not to say that Invetntion of Lying probably isn’t a good movie. It’s just, it’s a good thing to end up liking a movie more than you thought.
It’s been a long time since I walked out of a theater feeling really good about life because of a movie I’d just watched, and who would’ve thought it would be from a zombie flick. It was a fun movie. It made it seem like, if there were going to be a zombie apocalypse, then it would be an ok thing. I don’t want to give away anything, but the movie has a surprise cameo not mention in the trailers, even though it’s one of the better parts of the movie. About the only thing I didn’t like about the movie were Wichita and Little Rock. They kind of got on my nerves, but I guess they’re justified and their rolls help progress the story, so it’s something I can overlook.
I didn’t really know what to expect from the movie going in, and I certainly didn’t expect to like the movie as much as I did. Also, it’s got me in the mood to see other zombie movies. Hey it’s October so what better time, eh?
To know me is to know that I love the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TMNT). Always have and I probably always will. Recently I bought Season 8 on DVD. Now, most people are familiar with original cartoon series but don’t really remember the revamp the series went through toward the last few seasons.
Original TMNT Cartoon
By the time season 8 hit the series was aging and so were the fans, so they had to adapt the show to the changing demographic. The show got darker and it seemed to take itself more seriously. Hey, in the mid 90’s that was the cool thing to do if you were a kids cartoon. Like, “Ooo it’s so dark and gritty, I wanna hang out with that cartoon.” I remember watching it as a kid, I thought to myself, “Alright, this is the next step in evolution for TMNT. This is cool I can really get behind this.” I liked it, I got into it, buuuut now that I’ve re-watched it, I don’t remember it being this .. not good.
TMNT Season 8
The cartoon was darker alright, like suddenly it’s night time, all the time in New York. The writing and story got way cheesy. Shredder was even phased out and instead the Turtles were put up against other, less inspired villains. Hey, at least you can say the animation is got better, too bad it got progressively worse. I think everyone involved just stopped caring at this point. Luckily TMNT got the revive it deserved (and I knew would happen eventually) in 2003, with a brand new series. If you haven’t seen that one, I highly recommend it.
Would I recommend TMNT Season 8? Honestly, I enjoyed it. So I’d only recommend it if you’re a hard core TMNT fan.
I like comics. Now, I’m not talking about manga here, I’m referring to American comics. Don’t get me wrong I like manga too, it’s just that I’ve read more American comics and graphic novels than I’ve read manga. I’ve been reading comics for as long as I can remember, and even went to the comic con a couple of times in my youth.
I consider myself a casual comic fan, as I haven’t read as much as some, and if I were to have a conversation with a true comic fan, then well, I probably wouldn’t add too much to it. Come to think of it, I don’t think I personally know anyone that does read comics. Most of my friends are all about the manga and anime. Perhaps if I did have a friend or two that also read ‘em, I’d probably be more into it.
Of the big publishers out there (Marvel or DC) I seem to prefer DC over Marvel. Both are great in their own ways but DC has Batman, and that pretty much tips the scales for me. Also, I seem to just enjoy DC comics a lot more. Recently I’ve re-read Identity Crisis, a graphic novel written by Brad Meltzer and art done by Rags Morales and Michael Bair.
Identity Crisis Cover
It opens up with Elongated Man’s wive, Sue Dibny being murdered, and it doesn’t seem to be who they suspect. It looks as though the murderer knows the secret identities of superheroes and who their friends and family are. It’s up to the League to figure out who it is before they take another life. It’s a good mystery with not a lot of action. It relies more on suspense to keep the reader interested, and does a really good job of it, even though the big players of the DC Universe aren’t the starts of the book. Superman I kind of in it, Batman is mostly in the Batcave, and I think Wonderwoman’s face only shows up in one panel and she doesn’t actually say anything.
Now, it may be obvious as to where the stories title comes from, but the killers actions unwittingly reveals some of the more twisted practices of the league itself. I don’t want to give away too much but, this reveal is also connected to the books title.
It’s a good read, even if you’re not a comic reader, or even if you don’t know anything about the DC Universe. But the latter is probably almost impossible.
People say learning self defense is a good thing to do, but also learning to fight can be equally as important.
“*Gasp* Violent monster!”
Now wait, hear me out. Think about it. Throwing a punch is one of the most basic and natural actions a human can make, but how many people know the correct and proper way to throw a punch. For some it’s even an instinctual reaction to anger, and people will make it the answer to their problem, but learning the right time to throw a punch is as important as knowing the right time block, they’re two sides of the same coin.
Anyone can throw a punch but not everyone knows the correct way to do it.
Martial arts is a good way to get a handle on these situation, and it’s something I recommend, if you’re able. I’m currently enrolled in 3 different kinds: Korean Hapikido, Muay Thai Kickboxing and Brazilian Jiu Jitsu. When I was a kid (like 13), I used to take Hapkido, and got up to blue belt. Now that I’m older and have since started over, it was a big thing to me to get and then pass up blue belt. Three belt test after that I had my ninth.
Last night I earned my 10 belt in Hapkido and I’m now at my second red, and have just two more till black! It’s not so much the belt color or rank that matters, .. I mean don’t get me wrong it’s a pretty sweet thing, but the big thing for me is how much I’ve improved. I’m fitter, stronger, faster and my form has gotten a lot better. Granted there are still a lot of things I need to work on, but it’s good being able to see the progress. It took me a while (not as long as I thought it would) to get to this point, and if I keep going with it, I should be black sometime next year. I’m pretty stoked.
Hey! Can you tell? I like the Legend of Zelda series? Couldn’t you tell from my avatar? I’ve been a fan ever since I was a little kid. Funny thing though. I played and beat the second game before beating the first one.
This past weekend I finally beat Twilight Princes. Took a while, ‘cuz , when it came out, I wasn’t actually sure I wanted to play this game. Sure the graphics are good, but I didn’t really like the prospect of turning into a wolf. Made me think that it wouldn’t feel like a Zelda game. After having beat it, I can see how it’s pivotal to the story and makes some of the more interesting parts possible. Even so, there’s a small part of me that didn’t much care for that aspect of the game. Maybe because the first part felt a bit drawn out, making it feel like two separate games put into one. But I’m really just nit-picking for the sake of nit-picking.
The reality is, I loved this game. I loved every Zelda game I’ve ever played. Now with Twilight Princes under my belt I’ve played and beat every Zelda game on all the major home Nintendo consoles, .. well except for one; Majora’s Mask. I didn’t want to play this one for the same reason I was hesitant on Twilight Princes, but now that I know they can make this sort of thing work, I’m kinda eager to jump into this game.
Oh, and if you haven’t played a Zelda game before, you should. They’re worth the time. And if you don’t want to start, because you think there are too many games in the series, you could just start with any of the games. Sure, their are those out there that like to lay out the Zelda universe time line, but really, you don’t need to. Don’t even worry about that. Just play the game.
Hey remember how, on the 15th I said it was the best day of the year? Well I lied. Today is the best day of the year! It’s Monday! Also, it happens to be Maiyu’s Birthday! … Exclamation point!!!
A few of us at the AniMaid Café are going to be taking her out to celebrate, at her favorite Italian restaurant. Unfortunately though, not everyone in the maid café will be able to join us.
Anyway I just wanted to inform everyone, so that way if you see her today, you’ll be sure to wish her a happy birthday.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAIYU! We love you very, very, very, very much!