Life and times of the easily amused

[petronia]

Finished MoB volume 5 (oh no must write summary of entire thing now T_T), started the volume commonly referred to as 5.5. I heart bunko paperbacks. While reading manga I'd always notice that people like Kira-sempai or Yagyuu held the book with one hand only and turned pages with the same, and I never understood how they managed, but now I do it too. And I find I look forward to finding out what bookmark they send me in each book, because I really am that easily amused. This time I got a Maria-sama ga miteru one. XD (Marimite's published by Cobalt Bunko too. Ahahaha no comments.)

Last one of the batch, must order more. Never mind fandom-time, trying hard not to think of the money this series is going to cost me. Then again, considering that I'm buying Hikaru no Go and Bleach and Nana and GetBackers in French - and the latter two in Japanese as well - and XXXHolic and Peace Maker Kurogane and Death Note and... regular crack may be cheaper, one thinks sometimes. >_>

***

Sometimes I go through periods of mostly posting about my life, and sometimes I go through periods of not posting about my life at all. But really, when you get down to it not much has happened. I spent most of the past month pleased with the new clothes I brought back from Shanghai, and completely in denial regarding the weather. It's finally cold enough that I can't go out in skirts anymore, though, not even the really wide and long denim one, and my favorite pink corduroy blazer doesn't fit under the eiderdown jacket I'm wearing now. Still with the long scarf and hat combo, though both the scarf and the hat have changed from last year. Instead of the pink Indian knit scarf and black-and-white felt beret, we now have a beige-shading-to-cream tasseled scarf and black suede poor-boy cap. Have been feeling very beige these last few months, though not in the "bleh" sense - it just seems to be the colour I'm currently drawn towards. o_O Also beige/antique rose match my hair, which a lot of colours don't anymore these days.

What else? Party on Saturday. Tossed my cookies in a very literal sense on the way home - must remember never to get smashed at a West Island homestead ever again. I'm a rock-solid stoic when drunk otherwise but moving vehicles make me lose my cool. Schlepped second half of the Mirage of Blaze TV series to Tania's place for watching yesterday. I don't actually watch anime a lot with T these days - more like independently following various series on our own schedules - and I honestly can't remember the last time we watched something together seriously. XD;; Let me put it this way: the only two shows we watched together in recent memory were Prince of Tennis and Kyou Kara Maou. As for MoB, I'll just say that you haven't truly experienced the thing if you've never MSTed it with lines out of Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, and leave it at that. We weren't even drunk, that part came afterward.

***

Will now proceed to retype rei no lost entry. Stay tuned.

Comments

[tsutanai.livejournal.com]

I think I should send you the first travel book (since I finally managed to track it down: thank you Kinokuniya's inventory system!) because you'd get a lot more out of it than me, methinks. I mean, it's cute in bits, but I think the score is still Travel Guides 10, Information Kristina Wants to Know 0.

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Ah, well, I'd expect it to be much more idiosyncratic than systematic, as if it's to be a proper supplement to the novels it must have bits about plaques in kindergarten yards and things. XD But come to think of it, I have no idea what kind of information you are looking for?

[worldserpent.livejournal.com]

In Japanese *and* French? Why? (How do the Fr compare to the Eng? I recall they were physically more like the Jpnese ones, but all I have are the Angel Sanc vols I bought in France.)

I think I'm totally taking a break from anime this season. I get tired of bitorrent waiting, and most things are licensed these days.

[petronia.livejournal.com]

If it's something I read in rental or scanlation, then I buy the French volumes as they come out for collection and sl0reage purposes, and the latest volumes in Japanese if I want to keep up with the story. ^^; Eventually, of course, the French edition overlaps the Japanese one, so I end up with extra copies.

French manga is much like the Japanese in size and layout, although not usually identical to the original, and the print quality is often not as good.

[worldserpent.livejournal.com]

Ah. So do you generally find French volumes preferable to English ones, or are they more available or of higher quality?

[petronia.livejournal.com]

They're more easily available in Montreal, and the selection more closely adheres to what I want to read. When I look at the English manga shelf at the anime rental store these days it's 3/4 Korean manhwa I've never heard of. ^^; And I just prefer the smaller Japanese/French/Chinese sized books; much of the attraction Japanese books/manga has for me is in fact physical aesthetics. The translation also tends to be better, merely because the French have had more practice I think.

[worldserpent.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I don't get why there is so much Korean manwha, especially because I don't like the art style which is popular in the ones they pick up for translation. Hmmm.

[pere-chan.livejournal.com]

Am still defiantly wearing skirts, only with thigh-high legwarmers or tights or whatever I can devise to keep the cold out. Is Montreal one of those places with really extreme temperature changes? What's the average humidity and temperature over there right now?

[petronia.livejournal.com]

It's pretty extreme. A couple of days above 30 Celsius in the summer, regularly below -30 Celsius in the winter - and that discounting windchill factor. =_= Right now it hovers between -5 and 10 Celsius, with not much humidity (not a rainy autumn, at any rate, though it is some years).

[pere-chan.livejournal.com]

O.O Wow. That is extreme. We hardly ever get below 10 C here. No snow, hardly ever ;_;

The manga situation sounds...extreme as well. I know how you feel! I bought up all 8 volumes of Nana in French, and I want the Japanese too. Am also collecting Rurouni Kenshin in English (Shinsengumi shoutout!) because I was a moron and didn't collect it in Japanese when I had a chance. The quality isn't a patch on the original. Plus, have volumes 1 and 2 of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle in English and 3-5 in Japanese as they get here--TRC is one of the few titles sold in Japanese at Forbidden Planet. _o_ How do you do it?

Shinsengumi shoutout #2, off topic--I finally watched Gohatto! Funny that I watched Zatoichi first. Prettyboi was VERY pretty, but I got quite a crush on the guy who played Souji. Who is he, do you know?

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Not very well, to be honest. My physical collection rather lags behind what I've read. XD

The guy who played Souji: Takeda Shinji, I think he's an idoru actor... looking at his IMDB listing I discover he was the voice for Michaelangelo Kitty in Tamala 2010, which means nothing to anyone else except me I suppose. But Michaelangelo was very attractive for a cyberpunk-world Hello Kitty. ^^;

[pere-chan.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much! *stalks*

[serendip.livejournal.com]

Buy knee high boots. You can wear skirts until the temps hit 40-50F, swear.

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I probably should. My Franz Ferdinand boots are so comfy I don't want to stop wearing them, though. XD Decisions, decisions.

[serendip.livejournal.com]

Knee high boots have transformed my skirt wearing experience, I must say XD

[gokumew2.livejournal.com]

Do you have novel 20 of MoB? If you do, skip to that! LoL, jk, unless you really want to. X.D Naoe x Ougi... Mmm.......

[petronia.livejournal.com]

Ah, no, I'm a masochist and like dragging out the pain. But will keep it in mind. XD;;

[gokumew2.livejournal.com]

Waaaah~ ebillll! X.DDDD
*goes sadist on you* Wait-- You'd like that. .o_O