meteora329's Xanga

Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 19:00:54 GMT

Friday, June 27. A Conversation with Satoshi Kon.

Satoshi Kon is the legendary anime film director. His films are proof that some anime definitely aren’t for children. Kon’s works blend dreams and reality, hallucinations and fantasy until you’re lost in a sea of nightmares. I highly recommend his films to everyone, not just anime fans.

And on Friday night, he made an appearance at Lincoln Center! OMG SATOSHI KON IN PERSON!!! And he revealed some veeeery interesting tidbits ;)

The night started with a screening of Paprika, which is an absolute visual treat. Then came an hour and a half of conversation with Kon, along with some highlights of his works. They first showed a clip from Perfect Blue (the rape scene), and Kon admitted that looking back now, he feels really sorry for putting Mima through all of that (“kawaii sou”). He also talked about perspective, and watching the watchers. For example, in Perfect Blue and in Millennium Actress, people watch the cameramen film the actors. At this point, Kon pulled out a camera and took a picture of us. Suddenly, the audience and the watchers had become the watched. Of course, someone in the audience just had to take a picture of Kon taking a picture of us..lol.

The conversation shifted over to Tokyo Godfathers. For those who haven’t seen the film, one of the main characters is a transvestite named Hana. Kon admitted that when doing the research for the film, he himself dressed up like Hana! HAHAHA

Kon also admitted that while making Paranoia Agent, he didn’t know how it would end, because if he did, then the audience might also get a sense of how it would end. The problem came by episodes ten or eleven (the entire series is 13 episodes). The scriptwriters didn’t know how to end the story, so they asked Kon..but he was also befuddled! Now, in the story of Paranoia Agent, this boy called ‘Shounen Bat’ goes around whacking and killing people who are stressed out and want to die. Kon said that while trying to finish Paranoia Agent, he himself was so stressed with all the pressure that he felt like Shounen Bat was actually going to get him too!

Someone asked Kon about the Akihabara killings, and he said that apparently, the perpetrator didn’t care about who his victims were. He just wanted to kill people. If so, then maybe the identity of the perpetrator doesn’t matter, either. The perpetrator could have been anyone, and this was highly disturbing.

Kon was asked about the otaku subculture. He said that he could have been characterized as an otaku in middle school, and he encouraged being passionate about things in life. Kon did warn us about keeping balance in our lives though, heh.

Someone asked Kon about being an animator. He replied that animators in Japan are poorer than you could possibly think, lol.

To sum up, Kon was really friendly and funny. He told us that when meeting his fans, most fans tell him ‘I thought you would be much scarier!’ But he’s actually pretty cool irl. I even got his signature! ^^ (to be precise, he signed my Death Note. I hope he wasn’t thinking of his face when he signed it…)

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Sat, 24 May 2008 15:18:24 GMT

so I don't forget about any of these awesome events =D
and yell if you want to come along for any of these~

June 1 - http://japandaynyc.org/main/
Halcali performing in Central Park! omg! I absolutely love their song 'Tip Taps Tip,' the third ending of Eureka Seven, and Halcali's other songs are very imaginative and creative too.

June 6-8 - http://comeoutandplay.org/
Street game festival in NYC! From the Amazing Race to Capture the Flag to Mafia, but all with unique twists. and I'll be playing these with my minions in clan oWn. time to pwn irl games

June 15 - Iron Maiden concert \m/

June 20-22 - http://www.animenext.org/
Anime convention in the Meadowlands. Dunno much about it, but conventions are always fun~

June 27 - Paprika screening at Lincoln Center followed by a discussion with Satoshi Kon himself!
I love Satoshi Kon's films. They always blur the line between dreams and waking life, between fantasy and reality, between truth and lies, until you're lost in a sea of lies and deception. and it's oh so well done.

September 26-28 - http://www.nyanimefestival.com/
Not gonna miss it this year!

and 3 great metal concerts coming up:

September 21 - Helloween + Gamma Ray
kai hansen ftw
September 27 - Nightwish
i wanted to go three years ago, but tarja left the band and the concert was canceled.
October 15 - Kamelot + Edguy
i've seen kamelot twice already..and it's always been a blast.

Monday, September 10, 2007

Mon, 10 Sep 2007 11:49:57 GMT

Yeah sure Will, you can be in my novel. In fact, anyone who wants to be in my novel/help write my novel, give me the following:
3 normal spells + your ult
hero model
melee/ranged

uhh...okay for non-dota characters:
character name
personality/character traits
time/place where your character lives (can be any setting!)
any story/background

or you could be lazy and just write your name, lol.

in other news, i hiked up 'the Peak' with a couple friends on saturday. it was a night of complete contrasts. one moment we were hiking up an uphill mountain trail in almost complete darkness, using the light from cellphones to see ahead. all of a sudden, as we reached the top, the trees on our left gave way to a brilliant panoramic view of all of Hong Kong's lights. we could see all the artificial skyscrapers acting as beacons of modernity and technology, spreading light across the harbor. really a glorious view. afterwards, we arrived at the Peak shopping center, where hordes of tourists and locals swarmed off the Peak Tram to indulge in the hip restaurants and bars (apparently, normal people just take the train up the Peak. lol). we soon left the shopping area to return back to the trail, fading back once again into the night...

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

Tue, 04 Sep 2007 13:41:40 GMT

New York Anime Festival Brings Maid Cafe to US

The New York Anime Festival, which will be held at New York City's Javits Convention Center on December 7-9, will be featuring a maid cafe, open for the duration of the convention.
--Anime News Network

omg? maria-san!!!

more seriously..in high school everyone had these organizers. you know, so you could write down homework, tests, etc. they also had motivational quotes for every day. i still remember one of them had this to say about jobs: "find out what you love to do, and get someone to pay you to do it." is it that simple? if i love to write novels..doesn't writing pay practically nothing? hmm...
although, at least i have a purpose in life now, a dream of sorts: to finish this novel and polish it until it shines.

well, i just hit the 20,000 word mark. probably 80 or so double-spaced pages. yay.

Edit:

"But strength, what is true strength? Please excuse my words..But hiding who you really are and putting up a front seems like you’re running away to me. To understand what you truly love, along with coming to terms with it..To live positively by enjoying yourself..Isn’t that what true strength really is?"

from Ouran High School Host Club, the most badass manly anime I know

Sunday, September 02, 2007

Sun, 02 Sep 2007 14:17:10 GMT

Edit: alright, i've written 18,000 words now, which somehow translates into 5 completed chapters and 68 pages double-spaced. Email me if you want to read any of it.

*** The Opening Paragraph:

As I look back on that fateful day when I first found the book, I am inclined to laugh at the naivety of my past self. I was but an arrogant, cynical man who thought he knew everything there was to know about life. How could I have known that a simple book would lead me on a journey through both space and time; how could I have expected a simple book to lead me down the path of destruction and desperation, deceit and death? Yet though this book tore apart my life and all of my past ideals and ambitions. . . . I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

***

An excerpt from Reminiscence, Part Two (which is chapter 6 in the novel. and no the novel isn't about Romance of the Three Kingdoms: this is the only chapter concerned with sanguo yanyi. the novel is set in present day, present age. how did the action switch from 2007 to AD 277, you might ask. well, you'd have to read more of the novel to find out :P )

Lu Kang of Wu and Yang Hu of Jin stood facing each other, their swords drawn and flashing in the brilliant sunlight. Amidst all the chaos of the battle, as soldiers fought in the streets and peasants attempted to escape from burning houses, a strangely calm eye in the storm presented itself to the two generals. Hatred flashed through Yang Hu’s eyes; while Lu Kang’s face reflected only the deepest sorrow. The two commanders readied their swords, knowing that only one conclusion could await this meeting: a deadly duel to the death. Then, in a flash, they struck.

Their swords danced beautifully, weaving in and out to the sound of war drums in the distance. As distant soldiers cried out in their death throes, these two commanders attacked each other, sometimes with savage bestial fury as Yang Hu tried to overpower the Wu commander, sometimes with dazzling, elegant grace as Lu Kang dodged in and out of Yang Hu’s reach, like a butterfly flitting past human hands. Now Yang Hu had the advantage, and he thrusted forwards in one grand sweeping motion; now he was caught off-balance, and Lu Kang sliced downwards in a parabolic arc; now the two were even again, scrapping viciously while looking for the slightest opening. This was truly a beautiful dance—a daring dance that could only result in death.

Suddenly, a child’s cry pierced the air; her young, high voice so out of place amidst the din of war. Which commander would turn his head to look for the author of the cry? Which commander would break his focus and his concentration, surely resulting in his demise? Which of the two generals would break off the dance and meet his death?

In that instant, both Yang Hu and Lu Kang turned away from their duel. They both saw a soldier about to stab a peasant woman, with a small, frightened little girl holding on tightly to her mother’s skirt. Was the soldier a fighter for Wu, or for Jin? It did not matter. The two commanders analyzed the situation, and both realized there would only be one way to save the woman. They gripped their swords tightly, launched them at the soldier, and dived away onto the ground away from each other, both unarmed and expecting the other to take advantage.

The soldier crumpled. The mother breathed a sigh of relief. The two generals looked at each other, and burst into laughter, a glorious laughter that resounded from the belly and into the air, releasing the tension like a well-timed joke that breaks the ice perfectly at a party. Nearby, the other soldiers stared in astonishment and amazement. What were their two commanders doing?

“The sun is beginning to set,” Lu Kang observed. “Let us both pull back our troops and retreat for today.”

“A wise idea,” replied Yang Hu. “Moreover, it seems like we have much in common. I have long admired your bravery and your past glories, and I would be honored if you would join me for tea tonight.”

Lu Kang hesitated. Could this be a trap? In the corner of his eye, he saw two Jin attendants smiling and snickering to each other. Was this a plot that had been previously been prepared to ensnare the Wu commander? Yet with suitable Wu guards accompanying Lu Kang, surely assassination would be out of the question. Of course, Yang Hu was the most brilliant general of his generation; he would surely have something up his sleeve. Lu Kang’s pride acted up. He was the commander-in-chief of all the Wu forces; he could not be humiliated and called a coward. This invitation could not be declined.

“Of course, I would be delighted,” Lu Kang answered, taking out a dagger and gripping it tightly. The battle had only just begun.

Monday, July 30, 2007

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 11:21:42 GMT

today, i worked from 8:30 am - 7:30 pm. now i know it's not as bad as cai coming home at 5am..but damn! where am i gonna find time to pick up hot canto girls now?? haha i guess free time is just like anything else..you never really appreciate it until you lose it. man i really miss college now..with two classes a day...

...

one of them being gym

...

and me skipping both of them

Friday, July 27, 2007

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 13:32:25 GMT

so i get into hong kong (without throwing up at all, a minor miracle for me considering the flights took 18 hours, and i didn't make it through 2 hour flights in europe), and the day after i land, Ani-Com starts. this is an anime/games/comics festival here in Hong Kong that fits just perfectly into my schedule. epic win! after the first day, i am already the proud owner of an asuka figurine and a hitsugaya wallscroll. anybody want anything? ben, they had an entire section devoted to mecha, haha. they even had an exhibition where scantily clad girls showed off some mecha figures!

btw, they were holding a WCG (world cybergames) dota tournament there as well. everyone taking dota so seriously, reminded me of clan own's CAL (Cyberathlete Amateur League) days, although these ppl were of a higher caliber of course. the people there used some familiar heroes like AOE favorites magnus and sand king, although i did see one person using pitlord. didn't know ppl actually played that shit, haha. one person used POTM, saw some nasty arrows like kevin's one thing i noticed, was that almost everyone got blink dagger..even heroes like zeus and silencer. blink really is one of the most powerful moves in the game, it's why i like antimage so much haha

gonna start working on monday..in the meantime, gonna enjoy the last two days of my summer vacation. everyone stay in touch! those from hong kong (or those who just visited..like rushan joyce nish) feel free to recommend places to visit/eat here!

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 23:33:30 GMT

"The sound of the Gion Shoja bells echoes the impermanence of all things; the color of the sala flowers reveals the truth that the prosperous must decline. The proud do not endure, they are like a dream on a spring night; the mighty fall at last, they are as dust before the wind." --start of The Tale of the Heike (Heike monogatari)

So, four years at Columbia done. Still, it hasn't really hit me yet that I'm all done with college. It feels like in September I'll be back in NYC, rooming with James again. I'll be looking forward to dim sum in Chinatown and cards in the Schap 15 lounge. Yet--come September, I won't be there. Come September, I'll probably be on the opposite side of the globe, in Hong Kong doing finance. And that change strikes me as incredibly sad.

Of course, it was inevitable. I hope I made the best of those four years. I did well academically as always, breezing through a double english/math major. I certainly made a lot of friends, and yay for still staying close with Carman 13 people from freshman year. However, Oren once told me a story which goes something like this (apologies for not remembering all of it): A man was charged with engraving a message on a ring which would make happy people sad, and sad people happy. He searched and searched for the answer, which turned out to be: "This too shall pass." I guess those happy, carefree Columbia days have passed too...

It all seems far too short as well. I haven't really figured out my identity (aside from being Neji/Hitsugaya/etc, hahaha) or my lifeplan. As Takemoto-kun says in Honey and Clover (great anime, btw), "But four years were too short for me to get to know myself..and even though I’ve already begun searching for jobs, I’m still lost and confused. But I realized something. The reason why I’m lost. It’s not because I don’t have a map. What I lack is..a destination." When comforting Hagu-chan, who seems to have her life set up as a brilliant artist, he wonders, "God..is it more painful to cry when you can't do something you want to, or when you can't find what you want to do? Dear God..what does 'something I want to do' mean? What do I need to do to find it? Will I become stronger if I can find it? Even from her, who is crying so hard..what I felt, was an infinite..strength.." Those four years were far too short indeed.

At times like these, I'm reminded of all those Buddhist texts I read for my East Asian classes. As Yoshida Kenko writes in his Essays in Idleness, "In times of quiet thought, I realize that of all feelings the most difficult to suppress is longing for things past. After all is quiet, with everyone in bed, I often while away the long night hours by putting the things aroudn me in order; and as I throw out notes I would not want left behind, I come across a scrap of calligraphy or an idle drawing by one who is no longer with us and feel exactly as I did back then. Or then again I find a letter written by a friend still living but sent long ago, and am moved deeply as I wonder what the occasion might have been, or in what year it was written. It is somehow sad to think that the things that have become one's own over time will go on, oblivious and unchanging, long after one is gone." Later, he remarks, "Our world is a place as changeable as the polls and shallows of the Asuka River [omg, asuka. such pwnage in NGE. anyhow..]: time moves along, things pass away, happiness is overtaken by sorrow; a splendid dwelling becomes a field without inhabitants, while another house stays the same on the outside but has new occupants--leaving us with no one who can share in our reminiscences, since the peach and plum blossoms are unable to speak."

One of my favorite poems ("Taking Down a Trellis") by Du Fu goes:

These sticks, tied together, are falling apart,
the gourd leaves grow fewer and shriveled.

I enjoyed good luck that its white flowers formed,
it can hardly refuse to shed its green vines.

Autumn insects' voices do not leave it,
and what will the birds think at twilight?

But the cold is coming, all now grows bleak--
man's life too always begins well.

OK, that was probably going too far. As Yoshida Kenko observes, "In everything, it is beginnings and ends that are of greatest interest," possibly because the ending of one is precisely the beginning of another. At this point, my plan is to go to Hong Kong in mid-July for finance. A haiku by Matsuo Basho will do:
niwa haite
idebaya tera ni
chiru yanagi

got it? lol here is the translation:

To sweep your courtyard
of willow leaves, and then depart:
that would be my wish!

Stay In Touch Everyone!

Random Notes:
-I feel like I twisted my wrist and hurt my foot after doing too much lifting/running. But when anime characters train really hard, they get bankai...
-4chan is evil
-death note is really epic right now. "swimming lessons" this week!
-spurs rock. watch out for the rockets next year tho.

Tuesday, March 13, 2007

Tue, 13 Mar 2007 21:58:10 GMT

several things on my mind in this march break

Man Utd 4 - 3 Europe XI

further proof that Man Utd is the best club in europe. on top of the premiership, doing well in the FA cup and well on course in the champions league. glory to man utd..it's time for another treble!!

went to this on sunday: http://www.tenri.org/general/mailers/march/marchmailer.html#articles_7

concert for japanese koto and shakuhachi. really amazing concert, they played a variety of songs, from songs helping Buddhist monks to meditate, to Japanese lullabies, to modern Japanese music. one of the pieces strongly reminded me of the beautiful song in Samurai Champloo when Mugen is drowning. in case you're not familiar with the anime (watch it!! it's cowboy bebop combined with the cool factor from hiphop), mugen has just been betrayed by an old friend, and he is on the verge of drowning as he sinks ever deeper into the ocean. meanwhile, the soundtrack plays a beautiful, melancholy song with haunting lyrics. i've always been intrigued by tragic moments like these. there's a sort of ineffable beauty there. despite all the suffering and the sadness, the mere power of the moment seems to transcend ordinary life and make the moment special, perhaps even great. i remember nikkie wondering why i was drawn to the dark, depressing lyrics that can be found in some metal songs. perhaps it's the possibility of rising so high after falling so low; perhaps it's a recognition of all the distance you cover, even if it's all downhill. in the meantime, i'll keep on watching anime like Kimi Ga Nozomu Eien where i cry every freaking episode, i'll keep re-reading Romance of the Three Kingdoms where my heroes like Zhou Yu will continue to fight for their kingdoms and wonder why heaven was against them, and i'll keep listening to depressing songs like 'Bleak' by Opeth.

actually, if i want to cry, i'll just go rewatch the kenshin OVAs. god, those made me depressed for an entire week. i think after we watched those, james said 'if we were emo, we'd be killing ourselves right now.' too true.

on a happier note, school rumble manga is finally getting somewhere (harima x eri ftw), non-filler naruto looks pretty cool, and hitsugaya's gonna kick some major ass in bleach. w00t.

references:

first episode of samurai champloo. WATCH IT. NOW. it's freaking brilliant.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=s1wbfwKS5Jo

kimi ga nozomu eien: watch the first two episodes to understand what's going on. they are nothing like the rest of the series (no it's not just a soap opera) but they provide the foundation for the story.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=T2FxpbUjCOU

if you liked the above anime, ask me and i'll gladly lend the high-quality versions to you.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms:

full novel at http://threekingdoms.com/

it's my favorite book of all time. period. and i'm an english major, so i've read a lot of stuff :P

sample lyrics from opeth (opeth is a gateway band, allowing people to see the beauty of death metal. they have songs that are clean and songs that are full of death vocals. this song has both)

"Bleak"

Beating
Heart still beating for the cause
Feeding
Soul still feeding from the loss
Aching
Limbs are aching from the rush
Fading
You are fading from my sight
Break of morning, coldness lingers on
Shroud me into nightmares of the sun
Moving
I am moving closer to your side
Luring
You are luring me into the night
Crying
Who is crying for you here
Dying
I am dying fast inside your tears
Plunging towards bereavement faster yet
Clearing thoughts, my mind is set
Devious movements in your eyes
Moved me from relief
Breath comes out white clouds with your lies
And filters through me
You're close to the final word
You're staring right past me in dismay
A liquid seeps from your chest
And drains me away
Mist ripples round your thin white neck
And draws me a line
Cold fingers mark this dying wreck
This moment is mine
Help me cure you
Atone for all you've done
Help me leave you
As all the days are gone
Night fall again
Taking what's left of me
Slight twist, shivering corpse
Ornated with water, fills the cracks
Clasped in my lims by tradition
This is all you need

if you're curious about what they sound like, again, just ask me..i have most of their albums

and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opeth short description of them

edit: maybe i need the sadness to make the happiness all the more precious and real

Sunday, December 17, 2006

Sun, 17 Dec 2006 21:37:41 GMT

to everyone trying to procrastinate for finals:

some puzzles at

http://hackerskills.com

http://www.fasco-csc.com/index_e.php

live 24 hour webcam of a watering hole in africa:

http://live.wildlife.wavelit.net/451OK