Plurk is usually where I put my dumb fandom musings, but it's down and I'm attempting to piece together random YGO crap, sooooooo have some ( babbling under the cut. )
[IMPORTANT] ACTA
Jan. 23rd, 2012 12:03 pmOriginally posted by ![[profile]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
electricdruid at The fiasco continues
--
If you are in the US, the only thing I know of is this petition, which requires 25000 signatures in 30 days for any sort of response: https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!
There are only 3000 signatures right now.
I don't know what measures there are in other countries, though I know Poland is protesting hard, but again, for the US, I imagine calling Senators would be a course of action. It worked on the surface for SOPA and PIPA, at least.
electricdruid at The fiasco continuesACTA in a Nutshell –
What is ACTA? ACTA is the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement. A new intellectual property enforcement treaty being negotiated by the United States, the European Community, Switzerland, and Japan, with Australia, the Republic of Korea, New Zealand, Mexico, Jordan, Morocco, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, and Canada recently announcing that they will join in as well.
Why should you care about ACTA? Initial reports indicate that the treaty will have a very broad scope and will involve new tools targeting “Internet distribution and information technology.”
What is the goal of ACTA? Reportedly the goal is to create new legal standards of intellectual property enforcement, as well as increased international cooperation, an example of which would be an increase in information sharing between signatory countries’ law enforcement agencies.
Essential ACTA Resources -
- Read more about ACTA here: ACTA Fact Sheet
- Read the authentic version of the ACTA text as of 15 April 2011, as finalized by participating countries here: ACTA Finalized Text
- Follow the history of the treaty’s formation here: ACTA history
- Read letters from U.S. Senator Ron Wyden wherein he challenges the constitutionality of ACTA: Letter 1 | Letter 2 | Read the Administration’s Response to Wyden’s First Letter here: Response
- Watch a short informative video on ACTA: ACTA Video
- Watch a lulzy video on ACTA: Lulzy Video
Say NO to ACTA. It is essential to spread awareness and get the word out on ACTA.
Via Tumblr--
If you are in the US, the only thing I know of is this petition, which requires 25000 signatures in 30 days for any sort of response: https://wwws.whitehouse.gov/petitions#!
There are only 3000 signatures right now.
I don't know what measures there are in other countries, though I know Poland is protesting hard, but again, for the US, I imagine calling Senators would be a course of action. It worked on the surface for SOPA and PIPA, at least.
Still needs more Set flirting with Horus.
Jan. 22nd, 2012 04:01 pmI finally broke down and bought The Throne of Fire, since I figured there was no better time to read it than when I have like eight books on Ancient Egyptian magic/religion/daily life overdue from the library. This was actually a pretty good move on my part, because I think I appreciated a lot of the background stuff more than I otherwise would have! No pause to remember wtf a shabti is, a better understanding of how Riordan constructed the magical system, etc. On the other hand, as I complained on plurk, in the story of the magician parting the Nile, it was to retrieve a hair ornament, not a necklace. Jeez, Riordan-- no, I'm kidding it actually doesn't bother me at all; I was just amused I recognized the story he was referencing.
QUICK COMPLAINTS, BULLET POINT EDITION:
- Riordan still needs to LAY OFF ON THE ROMANCE, because in general it still feels awkward and shoed in. But that's just my opinion and I do think he's getting better at it. Just. Not everyone needs a romantic interest, okay?
- I feel like the 120 or so pages of the book were a little slow to get started, and my critique that he should just not write in first person POV unless he's writing Percy stands.
- Being American, I can't really speak to this, but I feel like Sadie was a little overly-British, too? Like there was an overuse of Britishisms just to remind us she used to live in London.
- Not all crazy people have to be written like Fishmalks, oh my god.
THAT SAID. Overall, I liked this book a lot better than The Red Pyramid. I feel like Riordan has proved once again that the more settled he gets into a world, the better he's able to write without things being super jumpy and awkward. Carter and Sadie didn't really annoy me, either, which was a problem with the first book.
On to specifics: ( Spoilers, obviously. )
QUICK COMPLAINTS, BULLET POINT EDITION:
- Riordan still needs to LAY OFF ON THE ROMANCE, because in general it still feels awkward and shoed in. But that's just my opinion and I do think he's getting better at it. Just. Not everyone needs a romantic interest, okay?
- I feel like the 120 or so pages of the book were a little slow to get started, and my critique that he should just not write in first person POV unless he's writing Percy stands.
- Being American, I can't really speak to this, but I feel like Sadie was a little overly-British, too? Like there was an overuse of Britishisms just to remind us she used to live in London.
- Not all crazy people have to be written like Fishmalks, oh my god.
THAT SAID. Overall, I liked this book a lot better than The Red Pyramid. I feel like Riordan has proved once again that the more settled he gets into a world, the better he's able to write without things being super jumpy and awkward. Carter and Sadie didn't really annoy me, either, which was a problem with the first book.
On to specifics: ( Spoilers, obviously. )
So uh. Hi!
Jan. 5th, 2012 01:27 pmNew Year's Resolution: USE MY JOURNAL MORE.
This past year has been pretty brutal for me. I've already talked about all the stuff that went on earlier in the year, so I won't bore you with repeating that. Instead, I'll just say that this fall/winter did nothing to break 2011's established pattern of family hospitalizations and mental health issues. Everything that went on prior to the beginning to the semester had me on anxiety high alert, and all it took was a few more incidents to give me the worst flareup of my disorder that I've had since 2006 or so. It culminated in me having to withdraw from the semester. After a long battle to try to salvage my grades, I just decided I was making myself too miserable and needed to take a step back and recover for a while. Which I have been, hopefully -- I feel better, though I'm still nervous about going back for the spring semester.
One piece of good news is that I didn't have to quit my job. For years I'd been dreading what would happen when we changed locations temporarily (where "temporary" means "for about two years") while the building was remodeled. Our temporary location ended up being forty-five minutes to an hour's bus ride away, depending on traffic. I tried that for a while and decided it just wasn't going to work. The thought that I was going to have to quit was really bumming me out, since I've been at my job for five years and I love it. But when I started to give notice, my (substitute) boss told me I could go work at the other temporary location instead, which is like a ten minute's walk from my apartment. So I've been doing that for about a month now and I love it to pieces.
As far as media consumption goes, I finished playing Skyward Sword yesterday. I got it for my birthday, but with everything going on I could only play it in spurts. I have to say that I enjoyed it very much and actually had a lot of fun with the Wii controls, which I had initially been worried about. Aside from that, my online life has pretty much been Yu-Gi-Oh! 24/7. I decided to suck it up and app Dark Bakura to![[community profile]](http://s.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
aather, and in doing so I got completely pulled back into the fandom, and accidentally took inarticulate with me as an added bonus.
Basically, here's to 2012. May it not be 2011.
This past year has been pretty brutal for me. I've already talked about all the stuff that went on earlier in the year, so I won't bore you with repeating that. Instead, I'll just say that this fall/winter did nothing to break 2011's established pattern of family hospitalizations and mental health issues. Everything that went on prior to the beginning to the semester had me on anxiety high alert, and all it took was a few more incidents to give me the worst flareup of my disorder that I've had since 2006 or so. It culminated in me having to withdraw from the semester. After a long battle to try to salvage my grades, I just decided I was making myself too miserable and needed to take a step back and recover for a while. Which I have been, hopefully -- I feel better, though I'm still nervous about going back for the spring semester.
One piece of good news is that I didn't have to quit my job. For years I'd been dreading what would happen when we changed locations temporarily (where "temporary" means "for about two years") while the building was remodeled. Our temporary location ended up being forty-five minutes to an hour's bus ride away, depending on traffic. I tried that for a while and decided it just wasn't going to work. The thought that I was going to have to quit was really bumming me out, since I've been at my job for five years and I love it. But when I started to give notice, my (substitute) boss told me I could go work at the other temporary location instead, which is like a ten minute's walk from my apartment. So I've been doing that for about a month now and I love it to pieces.
As far as media consumption goes, I finished playing Skyward Sword yesterday. I got it for my birthday, but with everything going on I could only play it in spurts. I have to say that I enjoyed it very much and actually had a lot of fun with the Wii controls, which I had initially been worried about. Aside from that, my online life has pretty much been Yu-Gi-Oh! 24/7. I decided to suck it up and app Dark Bakura to
aather, and in doing so I got completely pulled back into the fandom, and accidentally took inarticulate with me as an added bonus.Basically, here's to 2012. May it not be 2011.
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
... okay I feel slightly better now. Maybe.
... okay I feel slightly better now. Maybe.
TESTING TESTING 1-2-3
Oct. 31st, 2011 12:00 pmI'm trying out the beta of the new entry page and OH MY GOD IT'S FULL OF STARS.
Oh no it's a post about El Shaddai versus actual religious mythology, RUN WHILE YOU STILL CAN!
Quick note: I have a BA in Religious Studies, and though Abrahamic religious weren't my area of concentration, I did take a number of classes on early Jewish and Christian beliefs and texts. ... a number of years ago. And I can't seem to find my notebooks that would refresh my memory. So my commentary isn't going to be especially enlightening, I'm afraid.
A-ANYWAY, LET'S HAVE SOME FUN WITH ANCIENT TEXTS VS EL SHADDAI, SHALL WE? For the purpose of this exercise, my comments will be in red. Got it? Right, then!
PART ONE: GENESIS
Working from the NIV here.
( Genesis 6 )
PART TWO: NARRATIVES OF THE WATCHERS VS ENOCH
Let's start with the magical, mystical, wacky Book of Enoch itself. Worth a read if you can handle the surrealness. I'm grabbing translation on Sacred Texts, just for the record.
( The Book of Enoch )
Next, The Book of Jubilees! Which despite a somewhat cheerful name is pretty much a revision of Genesis. But it has some interesting info for our purposes. Again, taken from Sacred Texts.
( The Book of Jubilees )
PART THREE: ISHTAR
And now for something focusing on one of the other characters! This is from Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism by Howard Schwartz, which is an excellent book that I cannot recommend enough.
( The Star Maiden )
Aaaand that's all the patience I have for now! NEXT TIME (?): Enoch and Metatron!
Quick note: I have a BA in Religious Studies, and though Abrahamic religious weren't my area of concentration, I did take a number of classes on early Jewish and Christian beliefs and texts. ... a number of years ago. And I can't seem to find my notebooks that would refresh my memory. So my commentary isn't going to be especially enlightening, I'm afraid.
A-ANYWAY, LET'S HAVE SOME FUN WITH ANCIENT TEXTS VS EL SHADDAI, SHALL WE? For the purpose of this exercise, my comments will be in red. Got it? Right, then!
PART ONE: GENESIS
Working from the NIV here.
( Genesis 6 )
PART TWO: NARRATIVES OF THE WATCHERS VS ENOCH
Let's start with the magical, mystical, wacky Book of Enoch itself. Worth a read if you can handle the surrealness. I'm grabbing translation on Sacred Texts, just for the record.
( The Book of Enoch )
Next, The Book of Jubilees! Which despite a somewhat cheerful name is pretty much a revision of Genesis. But it has some interesting info for our purposes. Again, taken from Sacred Texts.
( The Book of Jubilees )
PART THREE: ISHTAR
And now for something focusing on one of the other characters! This is from Tree of Souls: The Mythology of Judaism by Howard Schwartz, which is an excellent book that I cannot recommend enough.
( The Star Maiden )
Aaaand that's all the patience I have for now! NEXT TIME (?): Enoch and Metatron!
L... life...
Oct. 24th, 2011 09:56 am✖ SO UH I HAVEN'T BEEN UPDATING MUCH. This is mostly because I have been going through a series of existential crises and generally hanging on to the cliffs of sanity by the tips of my fingers. CAN I SURVIVE MY CLASSES WHEN I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT'S GOING ON, AM IN EVEN IN THE RIGHT ACADEMIC PROGRAM, SHOULD I LOOK FOR A NEW JOB NOW THAT MY CURRENT ONE IS GOING THROUGH UPHEAVAL, WHAT DO I WANT OUT OF MY LIFE ANYWAY, AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA and all that. Which keeps me pretty busy.
✖ Read Son of Neptune. Generally enjoyed it. I have lots of thoughts, but organizing them is difficult right now for the above reasons.
✖ Amatsuki is being fantastic recently, moreso than usual, even though I only have the Chinese scanlations to look at. I have all sorts of theories, some that have recently actually come true (JELLYFISH!!), and can't wait to see what Takayama does next.
✖ Played El Shaddai, enjoyed it greatly (despite itself?) and am also greatly enjoying the craziness that is its Japanese fandom. Never leave me, wildly speculative, beautifully-drawn AUs.
✖ Replaying Xenogears now. Boy is that an experience after my religious studies education, let me tell you. It helps that I'm playing the game of, "what did they actually mean to say in Japanese?" which is pretty fun. I'm on the Wels Ship right now and am trying to teach Billy his Deathblows, despite his best efforts to resist me.
✖ Made two posts togrotesques this month. Hopefully there will be more.
✖ Read Son of Neptune. Generally enjoyed it. I have lots of thoughts, but organizing them is difficult right now for the above reasons.
✖ Amatsuki is being fantastic recently, moreso than usual, even though I only have the Chinese scanlations to look at. I have all sorts of theories, some that have recently actually come true (JELLYFISH!!), and can't wait to see what Takayama does next.
✖ Played El Shaddai, enjoyed it greatly (despite itself?) and am also greatly enjoying the craziness that is its Japanese fandom. Never leave me, wildly speculative, beautifully-drawn AUs.
✖ Replaying Xenogears now. Boy is that an experience after my religious studies education, let me tell you. It helps that I'm playing the game of, "what did they actually mean to say in Japanese?" which is pretty fun. I'm on the Wels Ship right now and am trying to teach Billy his Deathblows, despite his best efforts to resist me.
✖ Made two posts to
grotesques this month. Hopefully there will be more.HEY GUYS IT'S THAT MEME! The one where I post a line from my unfinished fics. Even the dumb AUs! nekokoban enabled me.
( 10 SENTENCES IN ASSORTED FANDOMS )
nekokoban enabled me.( 10 SENTENCES IN ASSORTED FANDOMS )
Things I am going to do today:
1) grocery shopping and prescription refills
2) unload the last two boxes in the office
3) update Bonten's memory registry
ONE OF THESE THINGS IS NOT LIKE THE OTHER!
... first, though, I need to get my butt off the couch. This is more difficult than it sounds.
1) grocery shopping and prescription refills
2) unload the last two boxes in the office
3) update Bonten's memory registry
ONE OF THESE THINGS IS NOT LIKE THE OTHER!
... first, though, I need to get my butt off the couch. This is more difficult than it sounds.
Real-life update and other stuff.
Sep. 12th, 2011 09:42 am✿ WELL! I'm pretty much completely moved in to my new place (ignore the boxes of random stuff still sitting in the office) and classes have started. I quite like the new place. The only major drawback that I can see at the moment is that it'll be a bit of a chore to walk to class once the snow starts piling up, but oh well. I'll manage, I'm sure.
✿ I'm a little more unsure of my feelings on my classes. The orientation session for my program really scared me (we're talking full-on panic attack), and even though I've been reassured by several people that it was intended to scare people and won't actually be that bad, it's still a bit... aaaah what am I doing here, why did I think I could do this. Don't get me wrong! My professors have been really nice, and my advisor told me my tentative plans were totally doable. Which is good, because I miss my religion and folklore classes already. It's just. AAAAAH. Not to mention my schedule's a nightmare, not so much in quantity but in placement of classes.
✿ Speaking of religion, I started El Shaddai the other day. I'm having trouble finding time to just sit down and play it, but I've done the first two chapters and I think I can sum up my feelings so far as "lolwhat." It's a good lolwhat -- aside from the fixed camera jumping, everything's pretty great -- but seriously I don't even. DAIJOUBU, MONDAI NAI.
✿ One day I'll get back to writing. One daaaaaay.
✿ I'm a little more unsure of my feelings on my classes. The orientation session for my program really scared me (we're talking full-on panic attack), and even though I've been reassured by several people that it was intended to scare people and won't actually be that bad, it's still a bit... aaaah what am I doing here, why did I think I could do this. Don't get me wrong! My professors have been really nice, and my advisor told me my tentative plans were totally doable. Which is good, because I miss my religion and folklore classes already. It's just. AAAAAH. Not to mention my schedule's a nightmare, not so much in quantity but in placement of classes.
✿ Speaking of religion, I started El Shaddai the other day. I'm having trouble finding time to just sit down and play it, but I've done the first two chapters and I think I can sum up my feelings so far as "lolwhat." It's a good lolwhat -- aside from the fixed camera jumping, everything's pretty great -- but seriously I don't even. DAIJOUBU, MONDAI NAI.
✿ One day I'll get back to writing. One daaaaaay.
Yume Nikki: Subconsciousness
Aug. 31st, 2011 12:13 pmI decided to transcribe the lyrics to りょこ's vocal version of the popular Yume Nikki track "Subconsciousness." When I say "transcribed" I mean I just copied down the lyrics one of the commentators had already transcribed the video. They made some odd choices with kanji sometimes, but I left those in.
( Subconsciousness )
( Subconsciousness )
Well hello there.
Aug. 17th, 2011 03:47 pmHELLO EVERYONE I'm not dead. This summer has just been all sorts of crazy. The quick rundown:
☛ Mom was in the hospital.
☛ Summer class.
☛ One of my parents' cats died.
☛ Escorted my little sister to California to look at colleges.
☛ My laptop broke.
☛inarticulate visited for three weeks.
☛ Moved out of my apartment and am staying with parents until I can move into the new place.
☛ Cousin got married.
☛ Parents got a new cat.
I have grad school orientation at the end of the month, and then it's move-in time, followed by the start of classes. Summer went by really quickly! I'm feeling pretty worn out and a little down about how non-restful it was, but to a large degree that's usual end-of-season emotional stuff. I'm not ready for it to be fall yet, waaaah waaah, etc. Being stuck at my parents' with the comparative loss of freedom/easy access to my usual hangouts that living in the suburbs brings hasn't helped.
That said, though, I have had a lot of fun as well.inarticulate brought the Japanese version of Tales of Symphonia with hir, which was an exercise in nostalgia tempered with new experiences. I'm especially glad we got to play it together, because doing 2P stuff made it all the better. I watched Puella Magi Madoka Magica and loved it, and am currently watching Tiger & Bunny whenever a backlog of several episodes builds up. It's the first time in a while I've actually really enjoyed "current" anime, let alone the popular stuff, so that's happy. I've also read a lot of good books (as well a number of so-so books)!
So! Yes. Hopefully things are getting to a more calm place and I'll remember to update this more.
☛ Mom was in the hospital.
☛ Summer class.
☛ One of my parents' cats died.
☛ Escorted my little sister to California to look at colleges.
☛ My laptop broke.
☛
inarticulate visited for three weeks.☛ Moved out of my apartment and am staying with parents until I can move into the new place.
☛ Cousin got married.
☛ Parents got a new cat.
I have grad school orientation at the end of the month, and then it's move-in time, followed by the start of classes. Summer went by really quickly! I'm feeling pretty worn out and a little down about how non-restful it was, but to a large degree that's usual end-of-season emotional stuff. I'm not ready for it to be fall yet, waaaah waaah, etc. Being stuck at my parents' with the comparative loss of freedom/easy access to my usual hangouts that living in the suburbs brings hasn't helped.
That said, though, I have had a lot of fun as well.
inarticulate brought the Japanese version of Tales of Symphonia with hir, which was an exercise in nostalgia tempered with new experiences. I'm especially glad we got to play it together, because doing 2P stuff made it all the better. I watched Puella Magi Madoka Magica and loved it, and am currently watching Tiger & Bunny whenever a backlog of several episodes builds up. It's the first time in a while I've actually really enjoyed "current" anime, let alone the popular stuff, so that's happy. I've also read a lot of good books (as well a number of so-so books)!So! Yes. Hopefully things are getting to a more calm place and I'll remember to update this more.
Never leave me, Kaori Yuki.
Jul. 6th, 2011 05:27 pmRead the last two volumes of The Grand Guignol Orchestra on my flight! I have to say I enjoyed it.
The manga really felt like it had a "theme" to it: finding the happy medium between eternity/stagnation and changes/mutation. The goal is stability without stagnation, evolution without losing control.
( Spoilers and pretentiousness. )
The manga really felt like it had a "theme" to it: finding the happy medium between eternity/stagnation and changes/mutation. The goal is stability without stagnation, evolution without losing control.
( Spoilers and pretentiousness. )
Goodbye, my friend, and thank you.
Jul. 1st, 2011 06:17 pm
Fizz was put to sleep at a little after 5 PM today. It was the right thing to do; he was in both kidney and heart failure and had stopped eating and drinking. I had time to sit with him beforehand, pet him while he curled up in the sunlight, and thank him for spending his all too short life with us.
I love you, Fizz. Goodbye.
Lovely weather photopost.
Jun. 26th, 2011 03:56 pmNice weather + newly restrung and eyelashed doll = photos.
Teaser:
( Cherry (Unoa Sist): 10 images under cut )
Teaser:
( Cherry (Unoa Sist): 10 images under cut )
I mentioned on plurk that might have found a new apartment, so that I can finally escape this godforsaken place of loud parties, drunk people, and water seeping out of my walls. Well, I just went to see the potential new place.
GOOD NEWS: The new place does, in fact, seem to have pretty much everything I was looking for. More square footage, a washer and dryer, a separate office/den, etc. And it would cost about what my current place does. It's lovely and I want it.
BAD NEWS: My mom, in her paranoid panic over me possibly not having anywhere to live, pressured me into signing a lease last fall for my current apartment for this coming year, even though she knew that I really didn't want to live here anymore. I feel fairly sure we can get out of it, especially since I have some VERY legitimate complaints about this place, but I'm not 100% sure. And it doesn't help that the building sales manager had just gone home when we came up to talk with him about this.
So I have two emails to write: one to the guy at the new place asking him to hold it for me while I complete my application for residency, and one to the manager of my current place asking him to let me out of next year's lease.
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
GOOD NEWS: The new place does, in fact, seem to have pretty much everything I was looking for. More square footage, a washer and dryer, a separate office/den, etc. And it would cost about what my current place does. It's lovely and I want it.
BAD NEWS: My mom, in her paranoid panic over me possibly not having anywhere to live, pressured me into signing a lease last fall for my current apartment for this coming year, even though she knew that I really didn't want to live here anymore. I feel fairly sure we can get out of it, especially since I have some VERY legitimate complaints about this place, but I'm not 100% sure. And it doesn't help that the building sales manager had just gone home when we came up to talk with him about this.
So I have two emails to write: one to the guy at the new place asking him to hold it for me while I complete my application for residency, and one to the manager of my current place asking him to let me out of next year's lease.
AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Fun times with folklore.
Jun. 9th, 2011 01:39 pmnekokoban wanted folklore, and I am at class mostly without my collections. So instead I'm going to post my retellings (from IRC circa 2007) of the penis stories my Folklore professor told my class once. Any really inspired turns of phrase are simply me repeating what he said to the best of my memory.( trickers and cocks )
Amatsuki 80
Jun. 8th, 2011 12:41 pmHOLYYYYYYY SHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT
This chapter is pretty easy to understand even without a translation, so I'm just focusing on Bonten and Toki's exchange near the end. ( pages 16-20 )
ALSO: ( SPOILERS AND SPECULATION )
This chapter is pretty easy to understand even without a translation, so I'm just focusing on Bonten and Toki's exchange near the end. ( pages 16-20 )
ALSO: ( SPOILERS AND SPECULATION )
Life is... Beautiful?
May. 26th, 2011 12:09 pmDeadly Premonition spoilers up through the final boss battle. Epilogue spoilers are not mentioned, so if you've watched the latest episode of SGF's LP, you're cool.
... this was written at 3 AM. I'm sorry.
( That was pretty heavy. Right, Zach? )
... this was written at 3 AM. I'm sorry.
( That was pretty heavy. Right, Zach? )
