Whoo, for the past couple months, I had a flood of ideas for blog posts. Now I'm down to just a couple. One is a longer post I'm just starting on. And another I need still to prepare (scanning an image, which I've been stalling on since I haven't needed my printer this week).
Amazing how you can go from feeling like you have too many ideas to being afraid you don't have enough XD
I haven't done one of these in a while! Here's all the anime and manga I've been watching or reading in the past year (or two).
Bambino
I read the manga a while ago, and just watched the drama. It was good! Watching shows about cooking always drives me crazy, since I can't get the food they're eating.
Yu Gi Oh
I finished reading Yu Gi Oh. I think Millennium World was my favorite arc. I liked seeing the ancient Egyptian style artwork. Now I need to watch it!
Kid Icarus Uprising
I always liked fighting as Pitt in Super Smash Brothers, so I finally tried playing one of his games. But I didn't get too far. For some reason, the way you have to hold the 3DS made my hands cramp like crazy. I got to the false ending, and then I just watched the rest on Youtube, At least now I know where he's from! It was a pretty silly game.
Black Butler
I actually enjoy this series quite a bit! (But since the "secret twin" was introduced, I've been kinda disappointed in it.)
Made in Abyss
I can't help but be fascinated by it. The characters are so sweet and innocent and they're descending into this unspeakably dark, dangerous polace. And yet I still want to know what's at the bottom.
The Promised Neverland
I'm still wondering whether or not I like this. The characters are good, and I'm rooting for them. But I have the same problem with this that I did with Death Note. The characters are supposed to be smart, but they're always making these amazing discoveries that don't make logical sense with the information they have.
Legend of Basara
I watched the anime, and it didn't seem to end. I'll have to see if there's a manga, so I can find out what actually happens. It's got a good premise, at least.
Marchen Awakens Romance
A rather typical fighting manga, but still entertaining. At least enough that I read through to the end XD
Dawn of the Arcana
I loved the concept of this. But Loki just confused me.
Little House with the Orange Roof
Another one that I loved the concept of. A fun story, though it had some of that sexist stuff that drives me crazy.
Sailor Moon
I finally watched it. I had trouble finding a Japanese version with subtitles for some reason, so I thought I'd just try the original English dub. It was entertaining, and a good distraction during the pandemic. Though I'm still not sure how Sailor Moon ever accomplished anything, with how flaky she was.
Mushishi
Ooh, I really liked this series! I'm reading the manga now, and it's making me want to watch the anime all over again. It's like a slightly darker version of Natsume Yuujinchou.
I've been working on Arith's story, trying to figure out what their big plan will be. I thought I might be able to write it out until I got through the sticky spot, which is usually what I have to do. But the gap was just too big for that. Everything I wrote then is basically a mess of brainstorming, spoken by the characters. I'll probably laugh my head off if I ever read it again.
But I think I have at least part of a solution! Enough of one to keep me going, anyway.
Black and white ruffed lemurs
A while ago, I saw a cute post someone made. It said that when she was a kid, she thought that everyone got a grand magical adventure when they grew up. It took a long time before she realized that wouldn't happen. But sometimes she still likes to pretend that it will.
I think I was still pretty young when I stopped trusting things like the Easter bunny and Santa. But to this day, my dad will throw carrots on the roof Christmas Eve night so that the reindeer have something to snack on. It's kind fun to believe in them, just to get into the spirit of things.
But there is a strange side-effect of being involved in fantasy: Sometimes I catch myself thinking crazy things. For example, I'll look at a pretty hill covered in wildflowers and I'll think how nice it would be to fly to the top. And sure, who wouldn't think it would be nice to do that? But some part of me seems to think that I actually will be able to fly up there some day.
Arith's story actually started out as an old collab back in high school.
There isn't too much of the old story left, aside from a few of the characters and a general direction. At first it was a little painful to pick up these characters again. Not because of the story itself, but because of the person I wrote the collab with. Fortunately that feeling has mostly gone away. The story is different enough that I don't need to think about the original.
Except I still need to figure out what they actually have to do to reach their goal. Hrmmm. I've fished up a couple old ideas that may or my not help me figure it out, so we'll see what happens. I haven't looked at it in a couple weeks, because I've been jumping around between a few writing projects. But I'll get back on it in the next few days.
I just finished watching She-Ra and the Princesses of Power. It was great! Though as you know, I am highly biased toward animal people, so take that as you will.
As usual, SPOILERS as I'm excitedly discussing cartoons!
So yeah. I'm just going to jump straight into the animal people. At first Catra was my favorite. And then she went from being troubled to being evil, and I was all disappointed. "Aah, she won't be able to make up for this stuff." But let's be honest. We all know from a certain monkey character that I'll forgive an animal person for practically anything if they actually try make up for it (And both of them are being evil due to a broken heart caused by abandonment. Whaddaya know?). So yeah. I love Catra again. Her cute sneezes and fear of water make it even better. And I love her pet lion!
I also love Scorpia. What a sweetie!
Actually, I think I liked Double Trouble the best. They reminded me so much of my cousin! My cousin doesn't have that money-focused evil streak, but their mannerisms are so similar! Plus they're a shapeshifter. Yaay! I wish they'd gotten more of a role in the last season, but it was nice to see they were at least helpful some.
(Now onto the non-animal people)
Ooooh, I love Shadow Weaver's voice.
Man, Bow really got me. I have a cousin named Beau, so I thought nothing of it when he was introduced. Then someone said "Bow has his bow," and only then did I make the connection that his name was "Bow" not "Beau," and that it was playing off him being an archer. Auuugh, why are the names all so tacky TT^TT
Heheh. Kipo and Glimmer have the same voice. For some reason, it took me longer to adjust to that that than it usually does when an actor reappears?
And Adora is a jerk to her original friends. She does eventually apologize to Catra for abandoning her, but it takes a long time.
(And stepping away from characters)
This based on an old show, which I've never seen. Should I watch it? I knew nothing of it before this show.
A good combination of laugh-out-loud and heart-wrenching moments. My favorite shows balance those two really well. They can cheer you up, or break your heart. And man, some of that friend stuff really got me. I'm such a sap about that these last few years. Before that, I would have still enjoyed the show, but found this stuff a little bit tacky XD
Oh my god, I'm doing summer camp stuff at work right now, and there are so many moments where what they do in the show is exactly like what I'm doing with the kids.
Bow: "Entrapta, Adora, stand there, and stop touching things!"
Perfuma: "Put the tank down! We do not throw tanks at our friends!"
Whoo, yeah. That sounds familiar.
Anyway, I recommend the show, and I'd like to watch it again!
I don't understand the phrase "eat like a bird." It's supposed to mean that they hardly eat anything, right?
And yet so many of the baby birds I've cared for would beg for food until the end of time. You had to stop feeding them long before then, so you wouldn't make them sick.
And when given the chance, an eagle can eat so much that they won't need to hunt for a week.
And some vultures that gorge on so much dead meat that they can't fly. If they need to make a quick getaway, they have to barf up some of their food.
I've been watching lectures from the WCN - Wildlife Conservation Network. It's amazing to see what they've done. Most people don't realize that the most important way to help animals is to work with people. Especially people who live near those wild animals. In most cases, those local people had been living in balance with the world for thousands of years, until western culture came in and screwed everything up. Now they're worried about keeping their families fed, healthy, and alive. No one cares about wild animals when their family doesn't have food or medicine. Once they have reliable resources, they can turn their energy to protecting the wildlife around them.
Here are a few of my favorite stories of how WCN groups have worked with the locals.
When researchers set out camera traps, it's very common for poachers or other people to go out and steal the cameras. But in this area, when locals spotted the cameras, they did a dance to leave silly pictures.
In another area, the locals named all of the lions that lived there. That gave them something like a sense of ownership over the lions, along with the desire to protect them.
So if you can, send support to the WCN. Our world needs so much help, and these people are doing amazing work.
I just had my first vacation in over a year. Just two nights, at a place that could easily be a day trip. Old town Sacramento. But I was so ridiculously excited for it. I was desperate to get away for a couple days. Plus I'd planned something special (and expensive). Though it's a very small trip compared to Disney World or Europe, I found myself wanting to write about it like I did for those trips.
We arrived in Sacramento early and walked down to the river. To my astonishment, there was a sea lion there! Hanging out across the river on a dock.
The zoo had a pair of sea lions, so I thought I knew a lot about them. But I never knew they could swim this far into fresh water. And apparently they just stay here! There's a few of them that hang out, and they even go further upstream sometimes.
We stayed at the Delta King. It's an old river boat that's been fixed up as a hotel. And it's right in old town, where all the historic stuff and cool shops are. It's a charming place to stay.
A photo I took from the ferris wheel. It's shows the whole boat, except for the big building in the way >:/
So many of the cool shops in the Bay Area are gone now. Everything is so ridiculously expensive that the good stores can't afford it anymore. But there are some cool shops here. Like this one with a ton of Disney and anime stuff (although very little from Coco TT^TT ). And a costume shop three stories high. And a beautiful African shop and Peruvian shop. I think there was a Mexican shop too, but it was closed.
I went for a big walk the first day. First I tried to find China Town, which I'd spotted on the map. I found the location, but it looked like just a couple restaurants and businesses. I may have been looking in the wrong place though.
Then I walked over to the state capitol. The museum was closed, and the parking was all closed during the pandemic, so I had to walk. It wasn't a super long walk, but I guess the heat and the concrete made me a lot more tired than I usually am walking that far. The gardens were beautiful though. There are tons of beautiful trees from around the world. The rose garden was in full bloom and smelled amazing. I wish I could have had my mask off the whole time, instead of for quick sniffs.
There was also a little cactus garden with some beautiful plants. And a ton of people were sleeping on the grass or benches. Maybe it's a popular place to come for rest breaks. But there were a heartbreaking number of people living on the streets. The freaking state capitol can't even help these people? . There's a shopping mall at the pedestrian exit to old town, so I got a drink from Pressed Juicery (where I sometimes go with my friend). It's remarkable how rarely I just sit alone, drink a drink, people watch, and relax.
There was a little fair-type ferris wheel right near the hotel, so we rode that in the evening to enjoy the sunset. I hung out in the hotel room for most of the evening, writing my much neglected fanfiction (it's a bad idea to update fanfiction chapters once every couple months. No one will be able to follow it well @_@ ).
The next morning, I went to the Sacramento Zoo for the first time. I'd heard that it was small, but it's a nice zoo. They actually want to move to a bigger location. That would be amazing! But getting it all set up will be a nightmare. I booked a behind the scenes tour. Since I do behind the scenes tours at my zoo, I like to check out those at other zoos. This tour focused on okapis, which we don't have.
It was expensive (the most expensive thing I bought since the pandemic started). But it goes to a good cause. And it's also potentially the only place where you get to snuggle with okapis! Okay, not actually snuggle. But pet them a lot! They love neck scratches. They'll lean into them like a cat does. They also like their ossicones (those thing that look like horns) rubbed. They're very soft. The natural oils in their fur will blacken the tips of your fingers if you scratch them.
Okapis are an endangered species, and the only living relative of the giraffe. They have big long tongues just like their relatives (I saw a video of a keeper trying to clean the floor of an okapi stall, and the okapi is standing over him, just slurping all over his hair, much to the keeper's annoyance).
There were two male okapis - Forest and Mo (Molimo). The reason this is the only place you can pet okapis is because these two enjoy it it. Okapis are notorously shy, to the point where almost nothing is known about them in the wild. They live in the deep forests of the Congo, where their stripes give them excellent camouflage. They move ten feet into the bushes, and disappear.
The Sacramento Zoo actually built the okapi barn so that they can take apart and move the entire thing. Planning ahead for the eventual move of the zoo!
And the okapis are such picky eaters. They had a chart with all the usual browse they give to hoofstock. And the okapis don't like most of it. Even stuff that's usually popular, like acacia!
The person who gave me my tour actually knows the guy I work with! And the okapi keeper knows someone else I work with. A lot of people who work at AZA facilities know each other, but this is my first time seeing it first-hand.
After my tour, we walked around the rest of the zoo. They had these amazing birds called hawk-headed parrots. The parrots had beautiful bright crests, and lovely purple bellies. I'd never heard of them before, but now I love them!
There were jaguars, and a baby giraffe!
This is a baby monkey called a "wolf's guenon."
I need to go back, because a couple things were closed during the pandemic.
On the way back to the hotel, I stopped at that mall again, got some tea, and sat and relaxed. It was nice to have such a fun mini-vacation before summer crowds hit at my work.
