I’ve been playing Mass Effect 2 ever since I picked up my pre-order from GameStop. I had originally pre-ordered the Collector’s Edition, but then my Mom informed me that she had already pre-ordered a normal copy months in advance… which caused a few issues. Basically, I make most 18+ purchases online because I am commonly mistaken for a teenager IRL. I just find it really humiliating to be told by clerks that I can’t pick up/cancel an order in my name “without a parent” before embarrassingly reaching into my billfold. =(

Being a fan of SLG/Renai games, I was originally drawn to Mass Effect when a video at E3 revealed that there would be romanceable characters in the game. So, when it was announced that my favorite character from the first game, Tali’Zorah nar Rayya, would be romanceable in Mass Effect 2, I was practically ecstatic! I had several male Shepards saved from my previous game, so I chose the one who was most Paragon to be the perfect boyfriend for her. But I had forgotten that I had originally created that Shepard to be the perfect boyfriend for Ashley; so pursuing Tali just didn’t seem right with Ashley’s picture staring back at him in his cabin! *L* After breaking up with Ashley on Horizon, Shepard’s moment of truth finally came. I chose the most Paragon response possible when Tali talked about removing her visor: “It is too dangerous.” Putting Tali’s health first before an important mission couldn’t possibly be the wrong answer, right? Wrong!

This is the Gaiseric pendant that JoHny bought me for Christmas! My Christmas gift for him was so lame in comparison (I just sent him some Reimers, knit two scarves and a hat). *L* I took a picture with it and my Volume 10 of Berserk for comparison. This pendant was based on the first mention/depiction of Gaiseric in Berserk, when Guts makes the connection between Charlotte’s story and Skull Knight. I love the way Miura drew Gaiseric’s armor and helmet, it looks so Praetorian, like some kind of fantasy armor from the Punic Wars.

I have two shirts that match with it perfectly. U3U
This is what my hair looks like now BTW. Soft caramel highlights!
Don’t be fooled by my flat iron though — I don’t look 1/2 this good normally! =PpP

I hope that everyone had a Happy Father’s Day! I bought my Dad a super cute card and a dorky headlamp thing that he really wanted. *L* Then I spent the day making dinner and baking his favorite cookies (peanut butter coconut), which we enjoyed while watching the series finale of Fuurin Kazan together. =D My Dad really loves NHK Taiga dramas and jidaigeki in general. The last time that we watched an entire series together was when Shinsengumi! still aired on KTSF 26 in California, so it has been awhile!

Although my Dad and I agreed that Fuurin Kazan was the best drama we had seen since Komyo ga Tsuji, one thing did leave me feeling disappointed. I’ve mentioned before how when it comes to Sengoku history, it is the battles of the Takeda that have always interested me the most. As a military history major and equestrian, it intrigues my imagination to visualize the Takeda utilizing their enormous cavalry to execute such impressive formations on the battlefield. But very few of those cavaliers, maneuvers, or battles were depicted in the drama, even though its protagonist was a famous Takeda military strategist (Yamamoto Kansuke). =(

The biggest disappointment however came with the show’s treatment of Kawanakajima. Anyone with a passing knowledge of Japanese history knows about these battles; they are among the most famous and dramatic of the Sengoku, representing the now romanticized rivalry between Takeda Shingen (Kai) and Uesugi Kenshin (Echigo). The real battles of Kawanakajima were skirmishes waged over the course of fourteen years that ended indecisively, but NHK condensed them into a single decisive battle for the series finale. This “battle” of Kawanakajima began at 6:00 AM and ended at 4:00 PM on the same day. The last battle of Kawanakajima in 1564 wasn’t nearly as brief, dragging on for 60 long days! IMO, even the PC game Shogun: Total War depicted Kawanakajima in a more historically sensitive manner than Fuurin Kazan. *L*

Aren’t these the girliest peep-toe wedges that you’ve ever seen?! They’re from the new Skechers Cali line and are a Victoria’s Secret exclusive. When I first saw them in my catalog I immediately fell in love with the hot pink gingham, kitsch rose buttons, and tiny hearts on the tread. But… I don’t think that they fit my feet properly. ;_; My toes don’t stick out as much as they should at the opening and the sides of the shoe are a bit too wide for my foot. I ordered a replacement pair that is half a size smaller, but I’m worried about them being too small (I haven’t received them yet). ArGh… I hate waiting to find out… and I hate my feet! =P

EDIT: Yayyy I got my new ones today (Tuesday) and they fit perfectly!! ^3^ Woohoo~

I can die happy now — unicorns in Berserk!!
Berserk has been my favorite manga/comic since I was in high school.
My first exposure was with the Dreamcast game, but the manga is 100x more amazing!

I hope that everyone had a happy turkey day! Thanksgiving was a really busy day for me. I spent most of the morning cleaning, ironing, and then preparing food with my Grandma, which wasn’t served until around 2:00 PM (usually you’re supposed to have the table set by 12:00 PM). Nobody seemed to mind though because we had such a great meal: stuffing, mashed potatoes with garlic, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, buttered sweet beans and carrots, cornbread, pumpkin pie, and of course a lot of turkey with gravy. =P

What am I thankful for this year? Well to be honest I’m just thankful that my family made it through the year in one piece. Between the housing decline, stock market crash, and poor economy it is a wonder that we’re doing as good as we are financially. Some of my Dad’s clients aren’t even celebrating Thanksgiving this year because they need to scrimp and save for the holidays. Others don’t have much to be thankful for at all between being laid off or foreclosed upon. That’s the story of one of my Dad’s friends who’d be homeless right now if we hadn’t given him a place to stay. Thanksgiving definitely had a depressing mood about it this year; especially when you turned on the news to see updates on the death toll in the Mumbai terrorist attacks.

Enough of depressing stuff though. This was supposed to be a happy post. w

Heavy says: Nomunomunomu =9

What once resembled pumpkin pie.

I received my Berserk package from Sasuga Books a few days ago. The order included Berserk tankobon 31-33 and a backordered copy of Young Animal No. 21 (which I’m still surprised they were able to obtain two months after publication). This officially brings my Japanese Berserk collection up to date, while my English collection only goes up to volume 21. The reason my English collection is dwarfed by my Japanese one is that I don’t like Dark Horse‘s treatment of Berserk. Their translator likes to add in a lot of American jokes and pop culture references that do not exist in the Japanese text. They’ve also been defacing Miura’s detailed artwork recently by placing obstructive white boxes with translated sound effects into every panel. I’d rather put my money towards the Japanese tankobon and rely on the fan translations printed on Skullknight.

The pinup girls in this issue creep me out too. They can’t be any older than 12! I don’t know how this kind of stuff can be considered appropriate in Japan. If a photoshoot like this was printed in an American magazine it would be considered child exploitation on the part of the publisher and parents.

This is the cover artwork for volume 33 of Berserk. It was drawn by female mangaka Chika Umino (羽海野 チカ). Berserk is the only manga I read, so I knew nothing about this artist until Young Animal’s announcement on the collaboration. This is the first time in Berserk’s nearly 20 years of serialization that a guest artist has contributed artwork and it was a surprise to see this finished cover in last week’s issue. Choosing an artist with such a cute and childish style is a bit strange IMO considering the violent and horrific themes present in Berserk. There are also errors in the artwork. The ball gown that Farnese wore in volume 29 isn’t pink (it is blue), Casca doesn’t ride around on a donkey, and Schierke’s hair isn’t red (it is green). As a girl I find the artwork absolutely adorable, but as a Berserk fan I’m not happy seeing it used for the latest tankobon cover.

Today after dinner my Dad was still hungry and wanted something for dessert, so I whipped up these simple coconut macaroons fairly quickly. My Dad loves coconut so there always seems to be a bag of coconut on hand in our house somewhere. =P They came out crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside, but I couldn’t help feeling that something was missing. Maybe some tasty dough mixed in for a few 100 more calories? w w

Ahh this side of the house smells so divine right now too! Almond and coconut~ (＾P＾)

Isn’t this the cutest shirt?! I found it over at J!NX and it comes in both guy and girl sizes. I don’t know why they made the shirt color grey though. Wouldn’t it have been better to offer blue and red shirt options? BTW if you are a girl you might want to go a size smaller. They say it is a babydoll tee but it is actually a straight fit. Despite the looser fit you can still see my chubby tummy though. =T Hehe!

Here are some of my latest Spore creations. They are both modeled after monsters that appeared in Volume 25 of Berserk (ベルセルク). The Chimimoryo is a nightmare creature dreamt up by children and the Kelpie is a type of river spirit. I didn’t know what color to make the Chimimoryo, so I just colored it green like the monster that appeared in its place in the PS2 videogame (聖魔戦記の章). I think that I could have done a better job on the Kelpie’s horse-like body too, so I might revise it later. Altogether I think they both turned out kinda’ cute!

BTW, since Crap showed me how to use JP text, I’ve been looking for every opportunity to abuse it. Please forgive it if Windows prompts you about not having Asian fonts installed. =P

I went out gallivanting with my Dad this afternoon to look at comparable properties (“gallivanting” being what my Dad calls driving around aimlessly in search of real estate) and came across something in my little cow town that reminded me of Team Fortress 2. Doesn’t it look like Blu’s fort from 2Fort?!