Scenery of the Doomsday

Hey look it's another post, right after the previous one. Yeah I know...but I really wanted to talk about this...




Never before nor since then have I ever seen such an intense and important image in a story, be it film or book. To many who haven't read or have even heard of Monster by Naoki Urasawa this looks like just a simple spread. However anyone who has read this amazingly complex and terrific story will tell you, this is the high point of the whole story. This story shows how far a man will change and go to in order to stop the chaos he has created.

The story begins by asking "Who can become this beast? Who can oppose the beast, and fight him" and through 162 chapters it attempts to answer that question.

Don't dismiss this simply cause it's a comic book. It's every bit as intense and profound as a novel or movie. Definitely one of the high points in manga, and easily one of the best books I've ever read

3rd verse, different from the 1st

Ok final update which will be music. Anything after this will be my random musings :)

Ok as most people that know me eventually figure out is that I love music, so I'm always looking up new bands or genre's. Lately I'm just trying to finish up my old music collection which I lost awhile ago and have been tracking it down online and finally putting it all in my Ipod. Surprisingly it's been going really well, but I still got a long way to go before I'm satisfied.

The one band that I really got back into was Asian Kung Fu Generation, which is like one of two Japanese bands that I actually really like. Well their new stuff is alright, but it's their older works that is top choice. Their first indie EP, The Time Past and I Couldn't See You Again, is in all truths not that great and arguably awful, but it's somehow my favorite. Maybe cause it is what it is. A small unknown band with nothing to lose. The sound quality is pretty bad and it's in Engrish(not a typo) but it sounds like an album any small band makes. I guess I like that style of playing. Their first album is really their best, as it sounds like any band's first attempt at an album. There are no expectations and the band has nothing to lose, which has always proven to be a winning combination.

Special shoutouts to Broken Social Scene, Of Montreal, and My Bloody Valentine as well. All these bands are obviously different genres but they're super awesome bands that I've come to really enjoy and appreciate.

And yes Loveless really is like the most fucking depressing album ever made

My love of Rap is still present, obviously. Haven't really been checking out too much of it lately. Just collecting the classics and revisiting old stuff. Mainly the two main rappers that I'm currently listening to are Ghostface Killah and K-OS who both need more fans.

Oh and if you're a fan of noise/distortion rock definitely look into Melt-Banana. Fucking amazing shit

so that's all for the main updates, more totally unlinear stuff to come soon

Till next time, Space Cowboy

Run My Mouth

Part 2 of the continuing updates. This one is all about my movies and tv

So for awhile I really wouldn't watch TV cause I had no time. That still kinda holds true though I have been watching more lately. I obviously still watch Lost since I've been a huge fan since season two and it's still my favorite show on TV. And this new season has not disappointed in the least. It's been great and having my buddy Tim and my two brothers meet up every wednesday to catch a new episode, it's always a highlight. I also got big time into Boston Legal, which is a fucking legit show. I haven't seen the whole series, but I did see the last episode as well as watch a large chunk of the overall show, I'll probably watch everything when I have the time. HBO as well continues to impress me with their amazing lineup of programming. Well not so much now actually, since Flight of the Conchords is now gone and Eastbound and Down just wrapped up it's short season. Eastbound and Down is actually my favorite new show in a long time. It's so raunchy and wrong but I can't help at laugh at how crude and inane the whole series is. I've also been watching The Wire, which is simply amazing. As for anime I'm still the kind that watches in one big spree like once of twice a year. Normally this would stay the same but coming April, Fullmetal Alchemist is coming and this time it's actually based on the original source material so I'm so fucking stoked to actually watch that.

Movies on the other hand I'm always watching. I usually try to get in at least two every week. Sometimes it goes well, other times not so much. Hey it's the effort that matters. But to continue, I'm always checking out new movies. And luckily I have so many at my house that I actually haven't seen that I never really run out of material. The best movie I saw in theaters in recent memory was probably I love you, Man. It was legitimately surprising how well written and acted and overall enjoyable that movie was. Definitely worth the money. Of course I saw Watchmen, which was only ok. On it's own it's a solid and pretty good movie I suppose. But I'm such a big fan of the novel that I was honestly disappointed. The most memorable movies I've seen have been Unforgiven, Kara no Kyoukai:Spiral Paradox, Memento, The Wrestler, and Requiem for a Dream.

Unforgiven quite simplys is Eastwood at his best and it's easily one of the best movies I have ever seen. And I hate the western genre.

Spiral Paradox honestly was a HUGE surprise. It's movie 5 out of 7 in a series of movies. the first three were kinda ok and four was good. But I can honestly say I was not prepared for movie 5. Between the pacing and the unique structure of the plot and the character interactions, it's one of the best anime movies I have ever seen. Everything about it worked so well, I just thought it was terrific

Memento is a mindfuck and awesome. That's all that needs to be said

The Wrestler I really liked cause I'm a fan of movies where it's really about the strenght of performances and not just the story. Mickey Rourke should have won that oscar, not Sean Penn

Requiem for a Dream was just, wow... It was so dark and so terrifying in how real the movie felt. The things that happen to these people at the end is nothing short of tragic and you honestly feel it. It never comes off as preachy and is basically an unbiased and honest portrayal on the effects of addicition.

Well that's all the thoughts for now. The next and final(?) update post will be on music

Till next time, Space Cowboy...

Stress

OK so this is one of many updates concerning my newly expanding intersests and what not. Mainly cause I have no idea what else to write about right now...

This one will be on what I've been reading and writing lately

Ok so with my main computer being completely useless, I've had to obviously improvise to get online. Which is fine cause I seem to get by ok, but the main thing that sucks is that it's pretty much put my manga reading to almost a complete halt. Obviously I still read One Piece and Fullmetal Alchemist but everything else has been completely on hiatus which is disappointing. Same with comic books, since I've had some financial issues I've had to stop buying them. It's a little depressing, but I think I'll live.

Thankfully I have tons of books that I need to read so I got something to work on. I've completely fallen in love with the works of William Faulkner, the man is just magnificent with his writing. I've been rereading The Sound and the Fury, but I've also picked up a few of his other works. I also got about 4 Hemingway books to read on next, then I've got The Slaughterhouse Five by Vonnegut, and then I'm gonna try Revolutionary Road, and reread Crime and Punishment and The Lord of the Rings

The real question is when am I gonna have time for all of these...

As for writing I have my moments, but it's my pacing that frustrates me. Like I got all these ideas and I just can't seem to get to them. I guess I'm just not sure how to fill out my main ideas to make them really intricate, but at the same time I don't want to add pointless filler in my works. I've got like at least 5 stories in the works with two that I'm really really excited about. Plus I've got the collaboration with my verbal punching bag(D:) in the works which I'm honestly super stoked to be on. The main thing I gotta work on for my writing is my research since I really want to make my stories as detailed and layered as I can possibly do. Hopefully I pick up my pace and work harder to finish my works

Till next time, Space Cowboy...

Zero

Ok so this has easily become a seasonal thing it seems. Or simply when I remember I have one of these, but the effect is the same. So since the last time I wrote this was in september that means it's been 6 months(!) since I wrote anything here. clearly I wont recap everything that's happened since cause that would just take way too much time. And I honestly I can't possibly recap everything in chronological order without some crazy tangents getting in the way.

New spring semester is here and I'm pretty excited at how it's going. It's nothing too hard so I can really balance work and social life as well as keeping up with my studies. Hopefully my plan to transfer to Irvine can happen pretty soon, but there's the issue of money that I need to worry about. Cause let's be real, the cost for one year is ridiculous and I simply don't have the money for it at all. Not to mention that the only option is loans which I don't want, but now it's a question of whether I'll get one due to how bad the economy is and the sudden decrease of financial flow going into the banks.


Aside from work and school, a lot of pretty much everything has changed. Like I said at the start of last year 2008 was gonna be my year. And in many ways it really was, however the last month and a couple of incidents made me feel like I didn't finish as strongly as I should have. But once february rolled around things got a lot better and has been going like this since, so I hope for the best.

Music and writing are still my main loves. With music I'm honestly trying to constantly expand and listen and learn as much as I can. Writing is another story. I love to do it and I have a ton of ideas running and I start up and get the ball rolling, but then I stop. I eventually continue adding to my story but at times I feel my pace is way too slow. I'm like Togashi or Hagiwara, fucking lazy and unmotivated. However I don't write amazingly genius stuff like them so I can't really get away with it can I? Luckily I'm working on this new project with a friend that I'm super excited about. It's silly and mindless, but I think it's the best comedy/action/parody I'll probably ever write. Too bad only a handful of people at best will ever see it :P

Well that's all for now. I'll probably go on a spree of updates on stuff like music, movies, etc. over the next weeks. Just more of the great shit I've found over the past six months, but more in depth.

Till next time, Space Cowboy