Death Note

I think I want to just drop out and get my GED. I know it's not the best thing, but it'll be better than nothing. I've probably missed too many days as it is, and if not, them my grades will. Can't say i'm... Satisfied with all of this, but I can't help it if my stomache decides to toss the lunch monkey after mum leaves, or that I've got a few cuts on my ass (that love reopening when I move my right leg) due to of falling and hitting Cassie's cage on the way down, and probably getting a few more that way. About the only good thing thats happened was something to do with an OC muse but damn it, I can't really remember it.
I trust everyone's Thanksgiving went well? Mine was ok As well as black friday (except learning that the latest Doctor Who runs for $84.) I think I'll wear my L shirt I bought at HT tomorrow. L-sama always brightens up my day. I'm freezing but it's nothing new.
Anyway, I've just recieved the first Disgaea. ♥ I love the Red Moon song. Reminds me of all of my muses, more or less.

I keep seeing "Best of 2008" lists pop up, and while I thank NPR for providing me with summaries of tempting, tempting books, there's still a whole month to find new stuff! OK, I'm not sure how many new releases of...well, anything will come out between now and the 31st, but I have a long, long commute. Plenty of time to read a number of books, watch a number of movies/TV shows, and basically encounter a lot o' stuff that could make any "Best of..." list. (Well, except my "Best Wines of 2008" list, since, well, drinking wine is frowned upon on the bus. And I do have to drive home from the transit center.)

That being said, I'm pretty sure about these entries on the following lists:

Books I will be reading in early 2009 because my "To Read" list is way to long:

• The Long Embrace: Raymond Chandler and the Woman He Loved by Judith Freeman


• 2666 by Roberto Bolaño (translated from the Spanish by Natasha Wimmer)

Games I'll want to play finish in 2009:

• Max Payne & Max Payne II (OK, so the Max Payne movie won't be making my best list, but it was still fun, and it reminded me how much I enjoyed playing Max Payne. I never made it through II before the game left, and I'd like to play it through.)
  
• Final Fantasy XII (OK, I'm cheating because I'm playing this game right now. So much grinding. I'll probably still be playing it this time next year.)
  

Top anime series I hope to see licensed in 2009:

• Soul Eater. It's zany and colorful and fun, and I'm liking the characterization so far. I'm hoping the C&D letters sent to fansubbing groups means a North American licensing agreement is in the works.
  

I have been watching a few series of horror movies over the last few weeks. Interestingly, it seems like sequels not only doesn't have to have anything to do with the first one, they are sometimes not even the same genre, unless one is very generous. So it's been rather amusing at times, accompanied by more than one "Huh? Wait a minute... How is this at all related to..." moment.

First up is the Korean "Whispering Corridors" (Yeogo Goedam) series:

( Cut for movie poster and details )

Btw, I think I'm totally ruining my ratio on the private tracker, atm. I'm downloading a whole NHK series that someone uploaded there all in one huge file: 16.7 GB! Currently, it says that it will take something like 150 days before it's finished. Sometimes I really love direct downloads instead. ;-)

Also, if anyone knows what the hell I'm listening to, could you please let me know, because... um, my kanji comprehension is non-existent. I must have downloaded the file some time ago, and I found it only today, so I can't remember what it is. LOL!

HolyClothing had an extremely limited sale of 100 items that were going for $9.99 each. I was able to score a pretty blouse in black. They're also offering free shipping (on any order, any size order) today so I bought a black skirt as well.

ThinkGeek has a one-day free shipping offer as well, for orders $25 and over with the code CYBERMONDAY. Great time to get those cases of Bawls, people! I'd already planned to get the Despair, Inc. calendar and they had the awesome cool steampunk skeleton on sale for $9.99 (in sizes from small to 3X! I'm sure some of you would like that!), so that worked out damn near perfectly.

So, set back a little on my Eee fund, but not too badly.

That christmas wish meme... (yeah, I'm late, I know, but I don't really expect to get any wishes fulfilled. Not after the year I've had.)

( The rules )

My list, in no particular order:

* Sainsbury's extra power pain reliever caplets... fabulous things! Often, they're the only thing that works on my headaches. Must be the combination of aspirin, paracetamol and caffeine that does the trick. Anyway, I wish for these!

* Chocolate. I happen to enjoy the stuff very much. :D I like chocolate with nuts or almonds or various fillings, or liquorice. Mmmhmm. I think it's fun to get to eat chocolate from other places, stuff I can't get here. (Not a fan of raisins, for the record.)

* Fan art for one of my stories! Yes, I heart fan art so much. Since I'm in anime/manga fandoms now, I wish for art for one of those stories I've written.

* Any leftover merch (no matter how small) for one of my fandoms (Bleach, Loveless, Death Note, Koutetsu Sangokushi (yeah right, as if merch even exists for that anime))

* The return of my muses and the dispelling of the writer's block!

* A safe, nice, and stress-free life. With some good luck and good stuff happening. (And world peace, while I'm wishing.)

* All things Gackt. The only thing I have managed to find in this country is the CD Diabolos. There's just nothing with him! Sweden doesn't yet appreciate his greatness! :(

* Small, cool Japanese things. (For me almost everything Japanese is cool. *g*)

* Things connected to ancient Egypt and/or Egyptian mythology.

* A Byakuya/Renji/Shuuhei/Ukitake icon... Just because it happens to be my OT4 and I've never seen any!

If anyone would like my contact info, my email addy is this username =at= g m a i l =period= c o m. :) Xmas cards are welcome too. I didn't sign up for any (apart from one) this year, because I've switched fandoms and have been mostly silent this year... And I'm not sure I can afford sending any myself. But if anyone wants to send me one, know that I'll be squeeing loudly.

( Date report and some navel-gazing )

I posted this only in comments to an earlier post, but I thought it was a bit hidden away so I'd better make a separate post with it. *g*

As might be known to some of you, I'm a big fan of bondage, and Japanese bondage in particular. Kinbaku, or as many in West seem to call it: shibari, is a very elegant form of rope bondage, where aesthetics is as important as the restriction. It's not only a bdsm thing, but an art-form as well, and many photographs show this very well.

So, today I'll share what is left of many years of trawling the web for pictures and instructions of kinbaku. Changing computers and a laptop that has died have unfortunately made many, many pictures disappear into nothingness, but I found some 800 or so on a few back-up CDs. Included in the zip file are a few photobooks I've found via torrents. Not surprisingly, most of the pictures have women in ropes, but I have managed to find a few with men.

I have a few books myself, but sadly, no scanner. But I think two of the books are included in a huge file I found the other day... I'll know when I look through the 3.6 GB... O.o At least I recognised the models' names in the list of content. So, there will probably be a second zip file with kinbaku later. :)

( The file, and a small preview - Not worksafe at all!!! )

I've got a coffee date this afternoon. Eek! For a not-terribly girly person, I do seem to use a lot of girly stuff to get ready. Bath & Body Works bubble bath in last night's relaxing bath, Woobie fluffy butter wash to shave my pits, Arcana sugar scrub on my sandpapery elbows, Body Perfumery shampoo and Villainess soap in the shower, Body Perfumery deodorant and Woobie body powder after. And before I leave there will be Villainess Whipped! and judicious application of BPAL (Gelt). And I even dug out the hairdryer I haven't used in years! Clothes will be: my cute purple HolyClothing minidress and black leggings. I think I'll wear my rutilated quartz pendant as well. And of course I'll be rockin' my awesome spiked backpack.

I am, yes, very very nervous. Didn't sleep well, so I'm knocking back the tea.

Wish me luck!

For the craftier lovers of smellies on my flist: How to make bath bombs.

rehd_fawx, who did the gorgeous artwork in my current icon, is currently taking commisions. Her prices are quite reasonable (ranging from $2 to $25, depending on size and complexity) and as you can see from my icon, she's totally awesome.

ETA: Here's her DeviantArt gallery!

Title: Et regarder, mourir les hommes
Fandom: Digital Devil Saga/Death Note.
Warnings: Spoilers for DDS2.
Characters/couples: Angel, Light.
Summary: Angel would laugh – here they are proving that God exists, and yet there are people who don't believe.
Rating: PG for philosophy and religion.
Notes: Written for kinkfest: Crossover: Death Note / Digital Devil Saga 2 - Angel/Light - debate - what sort of god this world of abominations needs

( Et regarder, mourir les hommes  )

Reading about that WalMart employee getting trampled sends chills through me. You know the company only cares about the press involved. And the woman who miscarried, too. Someone on Consumerist suggested that the manager at the WalMart should be charged with inciting a riot. Sounds good to me.

I was responsible and mailed out the BPAL I sold on eBay. Tucked into the book Generation Dead on the way. I'm enjoying it even though the plot's been sort of predictable so far; it's a bit like an afterschool special written by Kelly Link or Cory Doctorow. Thankfully, I avoided getting rained on, although I now have a rainy-weather headache. I think I napped away the worst of it, though.

Found one of my hermit crabs had succumbed to PPS. So long, Dib :( The others have been staying buried so I don't know if they're OK or not, although I saw Delirium trundling about the other day.

BPAL of the day is Priala. Cinnamon-smoky yum.

I know you said you don't use desk calendars, but you still might want to browse through this:

The Sacred Journey: 2009 Daily Journal for Your Soul. The journal's creator, Cheryl Thiele, has a site about it, too.

I was thumbing through it in Borders today, and it made me think of you.

Well, only minor pwnage. $20 worth of pwnage. I could not resist Naughty. But I did not, somehow, succumb to Candy Caning.

apocalypso23, you fantastically wicked temptress! I wasn't going to buy any more smellies until after I got my Eee.

Just this one, just this one, I swear, I can stop anytime...

*snerk*

Ganked from cleolinda, the most epic Macy's Parade event ever.

The bottle of Enraged Groundhog Musk I had up on eBay sold... for the Buy It Now price! I'd pretty much expected it to go for the minimum bid, so that is a very pleasant surprise. I'd still rather sell my stuff on sinandsalvation or evil_enablers, but I must admit I've done ok on eBay.

A link, since embedding was disabled.

Alice's Restaurant, 2005.

It is twenty years to the day since I saw Arlo Guthrie in concert.

He did an awesome 45ish-minute version of Alice's Restaurant then.

I wonder what sort of version he'd do now.

Well, that was a productive trip.

First, hyel, your BPAL is on its way, yay!

Second, I got up the nerve to go down to Industrial Primitives to talk to Rick about how my cutting is healing. I'm going in a week from tomorrow to touch up a few bits that came out too faint.

Third, I tried the pastrami melt at Jason's. YUM.

Fourth, I checked out the new big Twin Liquors location. It is wonderfully airy and has a good selection, even some Monin syrups! Including lavender flavor, which is awesome. And I found a fifth of Voyant Chai Cream Liqueur for only $6!

Fifth, hit HEB. Got a pumpkin pie that came with a coupon for free whipped cream, a bunch of sausage, and some other stuff, including a sixpack of Samuel Adams Winter Lager. Cinnamon, orange, and ginger, I couldn't resist! But my back was screaming at me on the trip home and now I am tired out and my shoulders are sore. But I have food in the house and booze I shouldn't be drinking anyway (but hey, it's more socially acceptable than cutting).

Ohhhhhhhhhhh I am worn out.

This will be short because I'm at work. I was processing our movie cover copy of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist (which I've been meaning to read for while) and decided to read the first page.  I adore David Levithan who writes Nick's part so I had to take a look.  

First page, there is a character named Dev. He's the lead singer in a queercore band called The Fuck Offs. Now I have to read this book!

Excerpt here. It's not the first page but you will get the idea.