December Project - FAILED

So you may have noticed that my Pokemon Profile Picture Month post has stopped updating.  This is because finals and life got in the way, and I am now much too far behind to try and catch up.  I may, next December, finish up the month, starting where I left off.

I almost didn't post anything today.  I feel guilty for pushing Jumblemash's post downward, but I can't just never update again, or else I'll lose the one readerI gained out of the post.

Which brings me to the next point of topic!  I have nine readers! Nine!  Nine is my favorite slash lucky number, so I feel very accomplished for reaching that point...  Even though I'd much rather have, say... 81 readers. (That's nine times nine.)

It's been dangerous to travel in my area.  Roads covered in ice, freezing wind and rain...  But surprisingly little snow.  There's still snow, but most precipitation has been freezing rain.  On top of that, despite the fact that most of the people in the city have been through several midwestern winters, the ratio of save drivers in the city and those who freak out in cold weather is one to OMGBBQ.  The reason I bring this up, is because I have family coming for Decemberween and Wintereenmas as I'm sure most people's families are, and I want them to arrive safely.  So everyone, if you have family traveling through snow and winter conditions, please make sure they know how to handle it.

Until next time,
Cap'n Kyrie

Guest Post: JumbleMash

Ok, guest posting is scary, but because I love my bloggy friends, I agreed to post here at I Can Has Catboy?

The Cap'n gave me a few topics to pick from and I chose gaming, because well, I know more about it than the other topics she gave me.

In case you don't know, I am the author of Jumble Mash and I'm pretty much a geek. I am 25 years old and absolutely love gaming.

The Boyfriend and I have a Wii, PS3, and XBox 360 with the Kinect. My favorite console is the Xbox. My favorite games are Bioshock and Bioshock 2. I am absolutely and completely ecstatic that they are coming out with Bioshock 3, although I have to wait a long time.

I also play Halo 3 and Halo Reach a lot. I love getting online and all the guys are like "Girls can't play Halo" and then I completely kick their butts. I am good at it, but it's because I've put many hours into it.

I'm also am a WoW geek and cannot wait to play Cataclysm!

BUT something that we've recently gotten into that takes no console at all and is actually fairly cheap, even if you decide you want to buy all the expansions, and that is Munchkin.

Munchkin is a funny role-playing card game. You are dealt eight cards at the beginning and hope like Hell you get some armor or some weapons. You can even get dealt Class and Race cards. For instance you can be an Elf Warrior. Each Class and Race has its own special abilities and things that help you through battle.

Each player's turn begins by "Kicking open a door." You basically turn over a card, if there is a monster, you fight it, if not you can either draw another card or choose to fight a monster from your hand. Fighting a monster and winning allows you to level up. First player to reach level 10 wins.

When Boyfriend first introduced me to this game, I thought I would hate it. I'm not much into role playing games, but I am ADDICTED to this game. I LOVE IT! And the more people you have, the funner it is.

I just have to get more of my friends to play.

Anyone?

Pokemon Profile Picture Month

As many of you know, December is Pokemon Profile Picture Month.  Essentially, you make a pokemon your facebook profile picture for all of December.  Well, I've taken it one step further.  For every day, I'm going to draw a combination of two or more different Pokemon, essentially creating a Pokemon that doesn't exist.  That will be my profile picture for the day. It's sort of like an advent calendar.  I'm taking requests from all of my friends and readers, so if you really want to see a combo, post a comment!

Day One:
For day one, since no one yet knew my plan, I chose to combine a shiny mew and pikachu, since they are my two favorite pokemon ever.  Behold: Pikamew!
Pokemon: Mew and Pikachu
Completed?: Yes.
Picture:

Day Two:
One of my friends requested this combo, stating that it would be cute.  She was right!  Behold: Celachi!
Pokemon: Celebi and Jirachi
Completed?: Yes
Picture:

Day Three:
An elegant combination, in my opinion.  Decide for yourself.  Behold: Persionair!
Pokemon: Persian and Dragonair
Completed?: Yes.
Picture:

Day Four:
Domi requested this, thinking that I would be putting the two pokemon in the same picture, not combining them.  Even so, I thought it was intriguing, so I decided to try.  I'm not as happy with this one, but I did my best. Here is: Taureotto!
Pokemon: Pidgeotto and Tauros
Completed?: Yes.
Picture:

Day Five:
For those fans of Eevee evolutions.  Sorry it took so long.  I had a busy day.  I am, however, particularly proud of this one.  Behold: Umbresp!
Pokemon: Espeon and Umbreon
Completed?: Yes.
Picture:

Day Six:
This was one of the many suggested to me by another friend.  It seemed interesting and challenging.  I found out, as I was drawing, that there is a bit of debate over which one is cuter.  Now, you don't have to decide!  Behold: Jigglysaur!
Pokemon: Bulbasaur and Jigglypuff
Completed?: Yes.
Picture:

Day Seven:
While we're on the subject of Eevees, I thought I'd design an Eevee evolution that doesn't yet exist. Behold: Spookeon!
Pokemon: A ghost type eevee evolution.
Completed?: Yes
Picture:

Day Eight:
Another friend's request.  It was a lot more challenging than I expected.  Sorry it's a little late.  Behold: Charigatr!
Pokemon: Charizard and Feraligator.
Completed?: Yes.
Picture:

Day Nine:
How about two powerful and adorable pokemon that both have NINE in their names?  Behold: Arcaninetails!
Pokemon: Ninetails and Arcanine
Completed?: Yes.
Picture:

Day Ten:
Yet another friend requested this fire and ice combo.  It's a little bit late, but I'm still putting it up.  Behold: Artincun-oh.
Pokemon: Ho-oh and Articuno
Completed?: Yes
Picture:

Day Eleven:
These two are my most powerful team members on Soul Silver that are not Dragon type or Legendary. Behold: Amphlosion!
Pokemon: Ampharos and Typhlosion
Completed?: Yes.
Picture:

Day Twelve:
Steam Me Up, Kid requested this combination. This combination is almost as interesting as Steamy.  Check out her blog, to see what I mean.  This combo was very difficult for me to pull off, but I love a good challenge.  Behold: Metaterra! Is it just me, or does it remind you of another turtle with a world on it's back.
Pokemon: Metagross and Torterra
Completed?: Yes.
Picture:

Day Thirteen:
Two Legendary pokemon.
Pokemon: Suicune and Articuno
Completed?: No.
Picture:

Day Fourteen:
Peregrin is author of Chow Down Right, a thought provoking and often funny blog, and Dreamwalker, a blog where he interprets dreams.  He requested this combo.
Pokemon: Mr. Mime and Meowth
Completed?: No.
Picture:

Day Fifteen:
Deadline.  No more pokemon combo ideas accepted after this point.
Pokemon:
Completed?: No.
Picture:

Day Sixteen:
Apparently one of my friends is really enthusiastic about eevees.
Pokemon: All current Eevees.
Completed?: No.
Picture:

Day Seventeen:
Same person who wanted Articun-oh requested this one.
Pokemon: Flarion and Nidorina
Completed?: No.
Picture:

Day Eighteen:
Not yet decided.
Pokemon:
Completed?: No.
Picture:

Day Nineteen:
Not yet decided.
Pokemon:
Completed?: No.
Picture:

Day Twenty:
Not yet decided.
Pokemon:
Completed?: No.
Picture:

Day Twenty-One:
Not yet decided.
Pokemon:
Completed?: No.
Picture:

Day Twenty-Two:
Not yet decided.
Pokemon:
Completed?: No.
Picture:

Day Twenty-Three:
Not yet decided.
Pokemon:
Completed?: No.
Picture:

Day Twenty-Four:
Not yet decided.
Pokemon:
Completed?: No.
Picture:

Day Twenty-Five:
Christmas Surprise!!!
Pokemon: It's a surprise!
Completed?: No.
Picture:

Day Twenty-Six:
Not yet decided.
Pokemon:
Completed?: No.
Picture:

Day Twenty-Seven:
Not yet decided.
Pokemon:
Completed?: No.
Picture:

Day Twenty-Eight:
Not yet decided.
Pokemon:
Completed?: No.
Picture:

Day Twenty-Nine:
Not yet decided.
Pokemon:
Completed?: No.
Picture:

Day Thirty:
Not yet decided.
Pokemon:
Completed?: No.
Picture:

Day Thirty-One:
New Years Surprise!
Pokemon: It's a surprise!
Completed?: No.
Picture:


PS: You may have noticed that the blog now has TABS!  I have started publishing my webcomic on this blog. Please, check it out!  It updates Fridays (when possible).

Until next time,
Cap'n Kyrie

Anime Nebraskon 2010

I went to Anime Nebraskon this year.  It was my second Nebraskon experience and fourth con experience.  Overall, Nebraskon was very fun and didn't disappoint.  There were many panels at all points of the day, so that there was always something of some interest, at all times.  The con staff are friendly, open, and not too strict.  Be that as it may, I do have a few complaints.

1.) The best panels were at the most inconvenient times.  Most of them occurred in the early parts of each day when people are still on their way or waking up.  Last year, yes there were fun things to do in the early morning, but the best stuff was at a time that people could be expected to be there and awake.  Not so, with a few of the panels, this year.

2.)  The yaoi panel was severly limited compared to last year.  Apparently there were complaints that the panel was too R rated last year... My response?  It's an 18+ Panel!  If you can't handle R rated things, you shouldn't be there!  And there was little more than kissing and open shirtedness last year.  How is that R rated?  It's not like there were any private parts showing.

3.)  While I understand not being allowed to take bags in to the shopping area to discourage theft, I do think this is a little ridiculous.  First of all, many costumes are not equipped with pockets and people use purses or costume related bags to carry their money in.  Carrying your money in your hand into a crowded shopping area is not only inconvenient, but it makes it easier for thieving deviants to take your money.  Second of all, with the dealer's room being so crowded and busy, it's easier for a shoplifter to just grab an item and leave with it than attempt to hide the stolen item in a bag, especially since, third of all, the people making sure you didn't go into the dealer's room with bags didn't check to make sure you had a reciept for any items you left with and weren't all that great at keeping bags out of the dealers room, anyway.

The things I complain about are mild complaints, though... And if you haven't checked out Nebraskon, I encourage you to do so.

The first day I went as Waldo, as I did at MAC 2010.  At MAC, I was the only Waldo and the idea of dressing as Waldo was neat.  Now, there are Waldos all over the place, and I don't have fun with that anymore.

The second day I went as me piratey self and was told my outfit was awesome by Richard Townsend.  Domi, whom I've now been with for a month and a week, borrowed some of my spare piratey pieces and also went as a pirate.  He be a great quartermaster. ^-^

The last day, I went as a generic white mage from the Final Fantasy games.  I hand sewed some of those red dags onto that robe, so I appreciated when pictures were taken of me.

Yes, that's an MAC badge. If you flipped it over, it would show the Nebraskon badge.

Sorry for not updating recently.  I am a college student and time is short.

Until next time,
Cap'n Kyrie

I Am a Sony Fan

First of all, I would like to direct everyone to my new boyfriend Domi's blog post here.  This post is in response to his.  Also, yes. I said new boyfriend.  And yes, he is a catboy.  I have mentioned Domi before here and briefly here, here, here, and here.  We've been friends for a while and I believe we always will be.

Anyway, back to the topic.  For anyone too lazy or with too short an attention span to read Domi's post, it is about the various game systems and the future of gaming.  In this post, he brings up a few good points.  Now while Domi is a Nintendo fan and I am a Sony fan, we are both rational people and can see the highs and lows of the systems we love.

Here, Domi says,

"First of all, WHY ALL OF THESE USELESS REMAKES OF THE PSP? I mean, you knew Nintendo was doing something big in handheld, don't you think it would be a better idea to release a NEW handheld system that addresses the issues of the original PSP?? I mean, most people have been pratically BEGGING for a second joystick on the system. Does the PSP Go have that? No. It has your standard, one control stick, which if you've ever played a Playstation ANYTHING, you know that the dual joystick is what helped it when it's first two console wars (PS1 vs. Nintendo 64 vs. Sega Genisis/Saturn, and the PS2 vs. Gamecube vs. X Box vs. Dreamcast (poor, poor Dreamcast)). So when you try to put a lot of favorites on the PSP, naturally their gameplay is going to DEMAND TWO JOYSTICKS, even if its for something just as simple as camera control (which, I might add, is one thing that has ruined what otherwise would have been really good PSP games). Secondly, why did you think the replacement of physical UMD's was going to be a good idea? I mean, some games (I.E. Birth By Sleep, one of the most highly anticipated PSP games), is not playabe on the download-only PSP Go. SO yeah, if you were a PSP Go owner who was looking forward to play Birth By Sleep, then I guess it sucks to be you, huh? AND ON TOP OF THAT, you're asking to retain your original versatility of having pictures, music, and video on your memory, but now you wanna add FULL ON GAMES too??? I mean, the 360 can get away with that becuase it's capable of having 250 gigs worth of memory. The PSP Go, does not. The PSP go isnt even capable of half that. And then my biggest problem with the device is, WHY DID IT DEBUT AT DAMN NEAR THE SAME PRICE AS THE PS3??? I mean, really??? PSP Go, at its debut, was only $50 cheaper than the PS3. FOR WHAT PURPOSE? I mean, at least in the PS3's defence, it does do quite a bit, on top of playing it's average at best games, so I could at least justify it's price. BUt the GO is not capable of a lot of things the PS3 could do. So long story short, if you're gonna buy a PSP, don't buy a Go. Or if you're just looking for handheld, turn to Nintendo."

I would have to agree that PSP Go is not worth the price.  There aren't any good games that you can only play on the Go.  Any add ons you had for your PSP are not compatible with the Go.  The Go has less memory for anything you'd actually enjoy.  And just as Domi says, it didn't address the problems with the original PSP that gamers had.

I actually wasn't a big fan of the PSP in the first place.  When I originally thought of the words "Playstation Portable" I thought it would be a portable version of the Playstation, much like portable DVD players are portable versions of DVD players.  But no.  PSP was another system altogether.  You cannot play PS, PS2, or PS3 games on your PSP.  You can only play PSP games.  Therefore, in my opinion, PSP should not have been called Playstation Portable.  It should have been called Sony Handheld, or something that was not related to Playstation, because in every way except, to some extent, gameplay, PSP is not like Playstation at all.  I think the differences between making a portable DVD player (which Sony has done, and had done before coming out with PSP) and making a portable Playstation are slight enough that they could have done that and revolutionized portable systems.

Domi also said,

"So now we come to the big one. Console games. So first we have to identify, who are the major competitors in the console wars. Right now, Microsoft and Nintendo. Why not Sony you ask? Simply becuase, it seems like with every turn, Sony is playing catch up. The only real advantage the PS3 has that some other console doesn't is that it plays Blue Ray. That's it. Good PS3 exclusives are few and far between (even so much so that Final Fantasy, a game that for the LONGEST time was Sony exclusive, is now on the 360), and most of the good PS3 games can be played on the 360 as well. Now all of this probably wouldn't have kept it out of competition had it not tripped up so bad early on. I mean, numerous bugs, zero backwards compatibility, and the ability to do everything BUT play games, kept it from taking off, and unfortunately, it's a little too late for them to really catch up."

Ouch.  To me, a die-hard Sony fan, this was a slap to the face.  But perhaps this slap is what Sony needs.  Because, painful as it is, it's true.  Sony has always been really good at taking existing technology and making it ten times better, but not so good and coming up with stuff of its own.

PS2 was the peak of Sony's gaming line.  PS2 did so well that PS2 is still being manufactured and sold and new PS2 games are still being produced, albeit at a decreasing rate.  PS3 is a lost cause, but because Sony spent so much money on it, they cannot abandon their project, and therefore the Playstation will eventually fall.  This is a sad but realistic truth.  If Sony wishes to remain a contender in the console battle, they must come up with something completely new; something that hasn't been touched by Nintendo or Microsoft.  They need to stop playing catch up and do something that will force Nintendo and Microsoft to catch up with them, instead.

So what do I think the future of gaming is?  I can't say for sure what will continue to advance for years on end... but I can guess what will happen next.

I think that Nintendo will reach its peak at the 3DS.  It may recreate it nicer and newer, which the X-Box 360 has and is succeeding with, but Nintendo won't be able to advance further in the handheld realm.  They may attempt to improve and advance the Wii, but as Domi says,

"Yeah it's true that the Wii has sold nearly twice the amount that the 360 has sold, but at the same time, at kick off, the Wii was really popular. But (and while it really does pain me to say this), the Wii's popularity has severely decreased since it's launch, do to problematic controls with some games, and very little decent 3rd party support. Not to mention the small variety of good games for it. There aren't many FPS, RPGs, or anything of that sort on the Wii. But a lot of kid friendly games."

I doubt the Wii will do much better remade.

The X-Box 360 is very successful and may continue to succeed for a long time, but Microsoft doesn't seem to have much interest in advancing their gaming system beyond adding games and making the system nicer.  This is appealing to gamers who don't have endless amounts of money, but will likely be their downfall, even if the downfall is far in the future.

In my opinion, the best bet for a future in gaming is a completely new system with new audience appeals that have not yet been addressed by other gaming systems.  This will likely be put out by a new company altogether.  Sony has the potential to put something like this out, but I do not realistically see them making ground-breaking gaming discoveries.  They're not usin' their brains, and as a Sony fan, this saddens me.

However the future plays out, I am looking forward to it... Because Sony fan or not, I am a gamer, and will enjoy any good game regardless of who released it.

Until next time,
Cap'n Kyrie

General Update

First of all, as of Wednesday October 6th (yes, this is a bit of a late update) Foxy and I are no longer together...  He broke up with me, and for a few days life was sad.  But I've been rapidly getting better, and wouldn't even dwell on this, but I don't want any new readers to say, "Oh, and by the way, how's Foxy?"  because Foxy is no longer with me and I wouldn't know.

Secondly, as readers might remember, in this post I mentioned Hetalia just stopping in the middle of the story.  Well, now I feel like an idiot, because this wiki page proves that Hetalia has not ended.  The reason there were no more episodes was because they hadn't been released yet.  I am now a happy fan again, because I have episodes to catch up on, and I can has more PASTAAA.  The rest of that post still has a valid argument.... Just, y'know... disregard the Hetalia part.

And finally...  I can't think of a final updatey thing...

Do any of my readers (I think I have one that doesn't know me personally) have any questions for me or anything anime, college, or dreaming of hot catboy yaoi related that you'd like me to post about?  I want to be an involved blogger that makes her readers happy.

Until next time,
Cap'n Kyrie

Headache Levels

The other day, I realized just now much I hate taking medicine, even when I need it.  I'm not anti-medicine or conspiracy theorist, or anything like that.  I just don't like to take meds.  Something about combinations of chemicals that I don't understand doing things to my body that I don't understand just isn't all that appealing to me for some reason.

Here is a list of headache levels and my excuse for not taking medicine at each one.  One is the least painful.

Pain Level One - Why would I take medicine?  It's probably going to be gone in a few seconds.

Pain Level Two - It's really not that bad. I can deal with it.  Just annoying.

Pain Level Three - Well, I haven't been drinking much water.  Here, let me down a few glasses.  It'll help.

Pain Level Four - It's still dehydration...  The water just hasn't kicked in, yet.

Pain Level Five - If I took medicine, I'd have to eat something first and I'm not hungry.

Pain Level Six - Fine, I'll take medicine.  The next time I get up, I'll get something to eat and I'll take medicine.

Pain Level Seven - I'm in too much pain to get up and take medicine.

Pain Level Eight - You know what, it's getting late.  Maybe I'm just in need of sleep.  *sleep*

Pain Level Nine - *whimper* Sleep didn't help.

Pain Level Ten - Either someone forces meds down my throat, or my head asplodes.

I have noticed that there is one exception to this chart.  If I am at a con, I won't complain about taking my meds.  In fact, I'll take my meds as low as Pain Level Two.  I'll be damned if I'mma let pain ruin my con experience.

Until next time,
Cap'n Kyrie

I Won an Award? Woo!

Calendreya over at Plucking Myself awarded me

award!

Thank you, Calendreya!

But the rules for recieving this blog are:

1) Thank and link back to the person who gave me this award.

2) Tell everyone 7 things about myself
3) Pass this award to 15 other bloggers
4) Contact the bloggers that I've picked and tell them about the award

Ok, simple enough.  Seven things about myself, eh?


1.)  I am currently a sophomore in college, working to get a degree in Economics.  Isn't that boring? :-D

2.)  I like hats.  I own two fedoras, one brown and fuzzy, one black with a purple band and silver studs.  I have one railroad-style cap, blue... And a variety of winter hats...  My favorite hat is my pirate hat, which is black with a purple feather and a plastic purple rose, but I rarely get a chance to wear it.  I think hats draw attention to people and tell you a bit about their personality.  They are the perfect flavor to add to any outfit.

3.)  I play tabletop roleplaying games.  I tend to prefer DnD from original up to second edition.  Third edition, in my opinion isn't necessarily bad, but compared to the previous editions isn't all that great, and Fourth Edition is crap.  I will also play and enjoy other tabletop systems.

4.)  I am an artist!  I betcha didn't know that, huh?  I haven't updated my deviantart account in a while.  I do my best work on paper, and it doesn't scan all that well onto the computer, sadly.  I am currently in an art class at my college, hoping to get better.

5.)  I also have a webcomic.  I also haven't updated that in a while. *slaps self* Bad Cap'n.

6.)  My favorite colors are purple and silver.  (Can you tell I'm running out of things to say about myself?)

7.)  I actually don't like the number seven.  My favorite number is 9.


Ok, now that that's out of the way... I have to pick 15 bloggers to award this to...  I barely know 15 other bloggers! *eep!*  Oh well, here goes!

1.)  Dr. Buck's Nerdland
2.)  The Roaring Dork
3.)  Daydream Believer
4.)  No Ordinary Rollercoaster
5.)  Compulsive Creativity
6.)  What is it?
7.)  Cat On My Head
8.)  Arguing With a Doughnut
9.)  Teenagerie
10.)  Abombs world
11.)  Steam Me Up, Kid
12.)  Hyperbole and a Half
13.)  Zingers of Mass Destruction
14.)  Cake Wrecks
15.)  Chicken Maker

And now to go tell them.  Some of these blogs are so famous, I doubt they'll even notice... On the other hand, some of them are are very not famous and could use your clicks.

Until next time,
Cap'n Kyrie

The Stuff You Need to Know About Drinking on Campus

Most people are not ignorant enough to think that college students aren't going to drink, even on a dry campus, and even if they're underaged.  57.8% of underaged college students consume alcohol in a period of one month.  I have not, myself, been drinking.  Nor do I expect any of my friends who read this to be drinking illegally or against campus rules.  But even if you don't think you're going to drink, you should still know everything in this blog post, just in case.

Firstly, most campuses provide a car service or escort to help you in situations that you don't find safe.  The situation may not even be drinking.  It could be that it's late and you don't feel safe walking home alone.  Regardless of what you'll be using it for, learn the number for that service and put it in your cell phone.

Also, most campuses follow a Good Samaritan Policy.  This basically says, in most circumstances, if you and a friend have been drinking against school policy and/or underaged, they will not hold you accountable for your actions should you call for help of your friend.  If you are drinking with your friend and you notice your friend has had so much that you're concerned about his or her health, don't be afraid to get help.  Even if you were to get in trouble, your friend's life could be at risk.  Many people wait until alcohol poisoning has set in before calling for help, because they were worried about getting in trouble.  Don't let that happen.

I encourage everyone to read this simple page about alcohol poisoning.  Vomiting is the first sign.  Vomiting means that your body is fighting it off, and is preventing more alcohol from entering the system.  If you are drinking and you feel like you're going to throw up, don't hold it in.  Let yourself throw up, and don't drink any more.  By the time you feel like vomiting, you've already had too much.

During and after drinking, drink plenty of water, and eat absorbent foods, like crackers, to help dilute the Blood Alcohol Concentration.  this will not sober you up, it will just help prevent the nastier side effects of drinking.

If you are at a party, do not accept open drink containers from someone you don't know and trust.  Likewise, do not leave your open drink unattended.  Date rape drugs are not an urban myth. This does happen, and it could happen to anyone.  If you have left your drink unattended, don't drink it.

Those are the main things that surprisingly few students on campus know about.  I won't bore you to death with all the little facts about alcohol and what it can do to you.

Until next time,
Cap'n Kyrie

Dissatisfied

I wanted to mention that I did finish watching Fruits Basket.  Overall, the series was good, but I was left with a feeling of dissatisfaction.  I also watched Ouran High School Host Club and Tsubasa.  I would definitely recomment both anime.  However, I'm beginning to notice a pattern.

In some anime, such as Tsubasa and Tokyo Mew Mew, the creators wrapped up the current storyline, but ended the series in a way that made you believe that there would be more.  And in Tsubasa's case, the story didn't seem done at all.  Yes, the arc was completed, but there was so much that still hadn't happened that would make me believe the story was over.  I found out later, that the Tsubasa manga continues the story, but after that point in the storyline, the characters change dramatically and the lovable, somewhat lackadaisical story you once knew becomes dark and serious, an error on the part of CLAMP writers.  Very dissappointing.  I'm usually a fan of CLAMP.

In other anime, such as Fruits Basket, the overall story has been told, the ending is clear and we are not led to believe that it will continue... However, the ending wasn't conclusive.  What I mean is, very little got solved, the future of the characters wasn't clear, and none of the little sidestories were really tied up, either.

Ouran Host Club and Hetalia, also leave me dissatisfied.  The series stops with no wrapping up whatsoever.  Admittedly, with Hetalia, the story doesn't need to continue for the series to be enjoyed...  But Ouran, at least, should have had plenty more to happen. Instead, it just stopped.

What is with this theme of leaving watchers dissatisfied?  If you're going to end a series, assuredly not coming back to another season, please wrap it up nicely so it doesn't look like an abandoned project.  I mean, really... If I were a teacher and these anime were papers I graded, this is what the grades would look like:

Student: Fruits Basket
Grade: A -
Comments:  Interesting concepts.  Brilliant execution!  Conclusion needs some work.

Student: Hetalia
Grade: B +
Comments:  Interesting concept.  Adaquate execution.  Good use of humorous repetition.  Where is conclusion?

Student: Ouran High School Host Club
Grade: B
Comments:  Good concept.  Body keeps me interested.  Slight repetition.  Where is conclusion?

Student:  Tokyo Mew Mew
Paper One
Grade: A
Comments:  Nice adaptation of old concepts!  Good development.  Transition on page two could use some work.  Excellent conclusion.  I look forward to your next paper on this topic!

Student: Tokyo Mew Mew
Paper Two
Grade: F
Comments: Paper was not turned in.

Student:  Tsubasa
Grade:  B -
Comments:  Interesting concept.  Decent execution.  Introduction could be longer.  Good transitions.  Interesting development.  Conclusion?

Yeah.  Good papers, but not a single student is getting an A + in that class.

I've also started to watch Love Hina.  I've enjoyed it so far, but if this one doesn't have a conclusive conclusion, I'll be really upset.  Part of why this one is so enjoyable is because of the mystery of the ending.  Unfortunately, because college takes up so much of my time, I may not finish watching it for a while, and may actually start over at some point.

In conclusion, good endings can make it or break it for mediocre anime.  Good anime will still be good without a good conclusion, but will never make an A + grade in the class of anime papers.

Until next time,
Cap'n Kyrie

Attention!!!

This is a very important announcement to inform you that you just lost the game.

Thank you, and goodnight.

Until next time,
Cap'n Kyrie

A Piratey Sunday

As all of me crew know, September 19th be International Talk Like a Pirate Day.  It be me second favorite holiday in the year. (The first, bein' All Hallows Eve'.)  This is how me day went:

I awoke in me quarters and said, "Ahoy!" to the sea. I dressed in me wenchiest of captain's clothes. I met with the pirate council and swindled them of their gold.  The Pirate King took us on a darin' advenchArr.  Afterwards, I returned to me ship and met up with me mate, a landlubbin' ninja.  Ninjas be harmless enough, usually.  But this one be good enough to match wits with the Cap'n. After me spar with me ninja, I returned to me quarters.  The sun had long since set, but me day was yet not over.  I worked on me navigational skills and practised my tongues. After a long and successful pirating day, I let the sea lull me to sleep.


And this is how me day went, translated for landlubbers:

I woke up and took a shower.  I put on my sex-ay pirate outfit. (A red corset with a black overshirt, swashbuckler pants, and an awesome black and purple captain's hat.)  I went to the sci-fi club's gaming meet.  While I was there, I went to get food, but was a dollar short.  The dollar was donated to me by some of the other gamers.  After the super fun game, I returned to the dorm and visited Foxy.  I like my boyfriend, even though he leans toward the ninja side of the debate.  After I wore Foxy out, I went back to my room.  It was late, but I still had stuff to do.  I did my Astronomy and German homework, then went to bed.

Until next time,
Cap'n Kyrie

Nostalgia and the Me That Could Have Been

I didn't used to live where I do, now.  I used to live in a small suburb of a much bigger city in a completely different state.  I kind of miss the place, and some of the people.  Once in a while I get hit with a great wave of nostalgia. (Like now.)  So I got to wondering, what would I be like today if we hadn't had to move?

I moved in the summer between 7th and 8th grade, so most of my maturing happened after I moved.  I think I would be a very different person.

In 8th grade, I would have either still had a hopeless crush on a boy we'll call Wolfcrush, or I would have asked Guyfriend out.  Annoyingdude would still be annoying me in attempts to get my attention, all the while I would be cluelessly trying to figure out why he was so annoying.  I would have stuck close to the few friends I still had, possibly to the point of annoying them so that they really didn't want to be my friends.  In my neighborhood, all of my neighborhood friends would have started hanging out with Newgirl, mostly because she's new, but also because I would have ended up throwing a tantrum about how all of my friends were ignoring me now and they wouldn't want to spend too much time with me anymore, at least until the next summer.  Towards the end of the school year, Annoyingdude might have asked me out by then, but probably not.  I would be debating about whether to go to one high school because of their mascot or the other because of their choir teacher.

I would have chosen the one with the choir teacher.  No matter which I decided on, I wouldn't know anyone there, or the people I would know wouldn't want to talk to me.  I'd attempt to start over and make a good impression, but I'd fail miserably.  Time away from my neighborhood friends would have veered me inside and to the computer, so I'd probably be a little bit heavier at the time, but also slightly more mature.  I might have made two good friends in that first year of high school.  My grades would be mostly As and Bs, but I'd probably have a couple of bad grades as well. (School seemed a lot easier to me after the move, whereas in the suburb I used to live in, school was getting harder.)  People would still be calling me 'JK' instead of 'Kyrie'.  I would have had one year with a really good choir teacher before he retired, but having lost a lot of my old friends, I might still have been a bit audition-shy.  I wouldn't have gotten into any programs that help kids get into college.  My brother wouldn't have moved out, or if he had, not gone as far away.  I wouldn't have had a boyfriend, though I might have asked someone.

Throughout high school I might have made a few more friends and gotten slightly less quirky, not that it would make a difference since most of the people in my high school would already know me by my previous reputation.  I might have dated one person, but it wouldn't have been all that serious.  I might not have gone to college, or if I had, not have done so well, having not had the extra encouragement to do so well in high school.  I wouldn't have developed my beliefs, having still had people pressuring Christianity onto me.  For the same reason, I likely would still be struggling with my sexuality, or even trying to suppress it.

Some smaller differences:  I would be a really good bowler.  I'd have less experience in theater.  I'd have learned Spanish, instead of German.  I'd probably still want to be an elementary school teacher.  I wouldn't have gotten into anime and manga.  There would be no I Can Has Catboy!!!

Overall, I think I'm glad I moved.  I'm not sure I like the kind of person I would have become if I hadn't moved...  I think the Me That Could Have Been would be very shocked to see the person I have become... perhaps even jealous...  So while it's nice to visit the past in your memories, don't forget to move on.

Until next time,
Cap'n Kyrie

The Caramell Workout Plan

Are you Otaku?

Do you like to cosplay, but want to look good in that mini-skirt?

Are you too bored of normal workout plans to go to the gym?

Then The Caramell Workout Plan is for YOU!

---

You know what Caramelldansen is, don't you?  If not, click the word Caramelldansen to find out!

Anyone who's been to an anime con has seen mobs of people Caramelldansen.  Who knew that this could be an effective workout, in addition to being a ton of fun???

Here's what to do:

Set aside half an hour to an hour every day (more if you feel like it) dedicated just to Caramelldansen.

Put together a playlist of all of your favorite YouTube videos of anime characters Caramelldansen.  Any of the remix versions will have the best effect.  (I personally like the one with L.)

Set the playlist to automatically go to the next video, get out of your chair, and dance until the time you set aside is gone.  (For best effects, don't take breaks)

Why it works:

The hip movement works out your core and your legs- especially good for that mini-skirt area.  Depending on how you hold your arms up to clap your hands, there is a varying degree of anaerobic exercise.  This is essentially cardio, but more fun!  And if you have fun while doing something, you're more likely to keep it up, and your body reacts better to the work-out. Yay!

Until next time,
Cap'n Kyrie

Letters to Life

(Disclaimer:  I am not genuinely addressing Life in these letters.  They are meant to be something for other humans to laugh at, not as something to be taken seriously.)

Letter One:

Dear Life,

Remember me?  It's Cap'n Kyrie.  Yeah, you've been treating me awfully nice, lately.  New boyfriend, very few class complications, a nice roommate.  I feel like I've been riding a cloud.  I'm loving it, and I would like to thank you...  However, I know how you work, and I know that this can't keep up, so how about, instead of trying to keep up the awesomeness to the point of crashing and something really bad happens and catches me unexpected...  How about instead of that, you allow yourself a little slip in my happy meter now and then.  Just a little one.  Keep me on my toes.  Overall, very good work!

Thanks!
Cap'n Kyrie

Letter Two:

Hey Life,

It's me, Cap'n Kyrie again.  This is a follow-up letter to the one I sent you commending you for your good work.  I would like to thank you for reminding me that I am human, and that minor slips in the happy meter are a part of the job description.  I won't be criticizing your work here anymore.  You're doing a fine job.  Just do what you do best.

Kthanksbai.
Cap'n Kyrie

Letter Three:

Life,

It's Cap'n Kyrie.  This is a follow-up letter to my follow-up letter concerning my happy meter.  I would like to thank you for clarifying that not only am I human, I am female, and that minor slips on the happy meter are not only a part of the job description, they are a regular occurrance.  I... really... appreciate your memo... really.  This letter is to tell you that I won't be bothering you at work anymore... ever... ever... again.

Thank you,
Cap'n Kyrie

Apologies and Introducing Foxy

So, my avid readers (ha ha, there's like 4 of you. I'm in need of some readers that don't already know all of this.), my apologies for not updating my blog before now. You know... College and stuff. The month of August did not make it into my blog, this year. I did have a good birthday, by the way. I even had a few people outside of facebook wish me a happy birthday! *shock face* Classes have been easier than expected, so far at least. That's a really good thing, because that gives me plenty of time for my new boyfriend.

We'll call boyfriend 'Foxy'. Because this is a 'public blog' and he might not want his real name being spread around the interwebs. (Translation: I hope to have readers I don't personally know someday and when that happens, obviously everything I post on here will be famous.) No, I didn't pick the name... I just like it.

Sadly, Foxy is not a catboy... At least, not yet. I did manage to get him into cat-ears for the duration of one minute. (He's not even a foxboy, which would be almost as cute. *pouts*) Nor is he prone to yaoi... Most boys who like girls are also not prone to yaoi. So I know all you readers out there (Yes, all 4 of you.) are wondering what I like about this boy, because the very description of my blog states that I dream of hot catboy yaoi, yet here is this boy I am dating that is neither a catboy nor prone to yaoi. But I'm going to be evil and not tell you. :3

The reason I am bringing up Foxy in my blog is just for the sake of having something to regularly post about, as blogs that post regularly tend to gain more readers than blogs that post less than once a month. (I'm sorry, August.) And who knows? Maybe Foxy would like to say something to my plethora of readers sometime, and instead of new readers coming and wondering who Foxy is, they can instead be easily directed to this post explaining who he is. You know... Because new readers might not already know all of this.

Until next time,
Cap'n Kyrie

Widening My Anime Horizons

Having had some free time, recently, I've been watching a few anime series that I've heard about but hadn't seen. So here is my list and the ratings I've given them:

Hetalia- I love it. I saw every episode available subbed, and am already saying, "PASTAAAA" at any appropriate moment. I thought it was a neat idea when I first heard of it at Nebraskon 2009, but I only saw the series a couple weeks ago. I'm looking forward to when I can get the Hetalia movie with subs.

Tokyo Mew Mew- I love cats, so when I first heard of this via a totally cute Mew Mew boy cosplayer at Nebraskon 2009, I made note to watch it later. Again, I procrastinated and life got in the way, so I only saw it recently. I watched what was available in dub, then the rest in sub. At first when I started watching it, I wasn't too sure about the series. It seemed too little-kid-ish and waaay too similar to Sailor Moon. But I realized when I switched to sub, that this was a result of Americanizing the show. I kind of regret not starting out in sub, even though I hate subtitiles. (I feel like I'm paying more attention to the words than what's going on in the show.) In this case, however, I stongly recommend watching in sub. Also, the last two episodes are heartbreaking. I'm not too sure how I feel about the very end, but overall, I'd give this show a good rating.

Fruits Basket- I haven't completely finished watching this show, but I plan on it. I think it's a very good story concept, and having seen references all over the place from every con I've been to so far and my friends at Anime Club, I knew I had to watch it. So far I am very pleased with the show. I must say, however, that MegaVideo sucks. Big time. I'm very cheap, so I'll watch any shows I can find online anywhere. I don't understand why Funimation is so worked up about people putting episodes on YouTube, when the Funimation website doesn't have the same shows available. I don't think they have the right. Anyway, back to the show. I haven't seen all of it yet, but I intend to. I'm not so sure I agree with all of the personality the writers gave Kyo and Yuki, but I do appreciate some of the little cat-like details they've added to Kyo. For instance, how he likes to be in high places. Cats love high places, and among cats, the higher up you are, the more important you are. I am a bit confused, however. I don't recall there being a seahorse anywhere in the zodiac. It's true that cats aren't in the zodiac, either, but the show has an excuse for that. It might be that there is an excuse for the seahorse, too. If so, I haven't gotten that far. Anyway, please no spoilers. I'll have an update for my Fruit's Basket review later.

Until next time,
Cap'n Kyrie

I Did Have Fun, but Sheesh!

Yesterday, I planned to go over to Domi's current domicile to play a video game that he loves on a system that I don't have. I knew that probably wasn't all we would do for the 8 or 9 hours we had planned, but that was the main activity I had planned for. (I say main activity, because the main purpose was to have fun, which I did.) We had planned that he would pick me up at 1pm, and Dad would come pick me up at 9 or 10 before he went to work for the night.

It was a nice day and I was ready to go, so I stepped outside at 12:45 to wait. You never know, Domi could be early. He had, after all, driven to my house a couple of times already. 1PM arrives pretty quickly, and I'm still just fine. The hispanic kids across the street were playing soccer in their yard, keeping me entertained. One of them noticed me watching and asked what I was waiting for. I told him I was bein picked up by a friend and that he had a good kick. Around 1:15, I started getting a little tired of waiting, but 15 minutes isn't too late, really, and I wasn't worried. At 1:30, I had sat down on the plastic chair on our porch, despite how likely spiders are living under it. The little boy across the street asked me if I was still waiting, and I said yes. I started to consider why Domi might not be here yet.

My first impulse was to get angry, because that first impulse was absolutely certain that he had sent me an instant message to cancel and hadn't bothered to text the message to me, because he sent it online. It was sure of that despite the fact that Domi had spoken to me about an hour earlier and the plans were still a-go. Now, First Impulse is very quick to anger, but don't think he doesn't have reason. That exact thing has happened in the past, but with a different person. However, Reason told me to wait until 2, then go inside to check if he hadn't contacted me by then via my cell phone.

Five minutes later, my second impulse said that something was wrong. This is where I got creative. Second Impulse made up a whole scenario for me to work through, which actually kept me occupied for another ten minutes. In this scenario, Domi had been kidnapped by bad people. Any minute, Domi's car would come around the corner with strangers in the back seat because Domi had convinced them that I would be very worried and suspicious if he didn't come to pick me up today. Sensing immediately that something was wrong, I would wave and call to Domi to assist me in bringing more stuff out to the car. I would let him inside and ask him about the suspicious strangers in the back seat and he would tell me all about how they totally tried to kidnap him, and I would call the police.

BUT WAIT!!! What if the kidnappers came up to the door with Domi to help him assist me in taking things out to the car? Surely then, they would be after kidnapping me alongside him! Seeing the suspicious strangers get out of the car, I would nonchalantly go inside and lock the door. When they reached the porch, I would call out and admit that I wasn't comfortable letting them in, since I didn't know them. That's where Clever Domi would tell me how he's close friends with them, just like (Insert name/description of someone I know Domi doesn't get along with), knowing that I would know that he wasn't saying nice things about the kidnappers. Then I would say, "Well, let me just get my stuff and bring it to the door for you," and instead go to call the police.

Again, Reason had to ruin my fun and say that this situation is completely implausible, and if two-o-clock came around and he hadn't contacted me at all, I would be perfectly capable of calling or texting him to find out what's wrong. Thankfully, I never had to do that, because at 1:45, Domi called me. Apparently, despite having driven to my house a couple of times in the recent past, he was lost and needed directions. He arrived at about 2 just as the mailman handed me the mail. Having prepared well before hand, having everything ready so I can just jump in the car and go, I hesitated over what to do with the mail. I unlocked the already locked door, set the mail just inside on the phonebook stand, then relocked the door before going to the car.

First we went to his mom's house to print directions out. To where? I wasn't sure, although thinking back, he did mention we were going to visit a friend of his. I just wasn't very good at paying attention. While waiting in the car for him to come back, I saw someone come out and bring the trash bins back to the house, looking very angry. When Domi came back to the car, I told him, "You alright? You looked very angry bringing in the trash bins."

"That wasn't me, that was my brother," Domi replied. I mentally facepalmed myself. Of course it was. He wasn't even wearing the same clothes! How racist this must have made me look, since the last time I had been at his house, I'd asked who the girl with him in a photo was, when the person in the photo was his uncle. I am clearly not the most observant or intelligent person in the world. Maybe it's the hair.

So I helped navigate us to a highway with no trouble whatsoever. The next direction was to turn left at Potter St. It estimated this would take about 7 minutes. We passed several streets that weren't Potter St. and a few streets that didn't appear to be labelled. 10 minutes on this highway, we started to wonder whether we'd missed it. When we started to see signs for a different city, we turned around and headed back, planning to call his friend to get directions, since GoogleMaps was being sucky. Well guess what street we passed on the way back? Apparently there was a sign for this street, but it was four lanes over on the left and tiny.

We drove into this really creepy looking neighborhood where the houses are all really nice-looking, but also all the same, and there doesn't seem to be a building that isn't a home in sight. When we got to this friend's house, his name was Kenneth, we stood outside and talked a while. Another creepy thing about this neighborhood was that this was a huge neighborhood, it was nice outside, and we were the only people in sight! Kenneth and his girlfriend are fun people and I had a good time. By the time we left at around 4:30, however, I was mildly sunburnt on my face and starting to get hungry.

We left and went to Domi's current domicile, which is actually a different friend's house, but whatever. That friend lives in another creepy neighborhood, just like the one we'd just left, except the houses were even more alike. We made our way to the basement after I scratched their pet dog on the head and got on the wii to play a gamecube game called Tales of Symphonia. I mentioned that I was hungry and Domi said something along the lines of that he could reheat some pizza for me, but his culinary skills weren't good enough for anything else. I thought to myself that I disagreed, but shrugged it off. I brought chips along for a reason. I opened the bag and started munching and sharing with the sister of the friend that lives there.

These chips were jalapeno flavored, so pretty quickly I needed something to cool off my tongue. I had also brought along a single can of Sparkling Water which had been put in the fridge when I got to the house, because in the two hours we had been at the previous house, the can had gotten warm. I figured that 20 minutes was long enough and got the can out to drink. It was still a bit warm, but my tongue was on fire, so I didn't care. Pretty soon, I was out of water and still eating chips. When I noticed that my tongue was on fire and I had nothing to cool down with, I stopped eating. I had, at this point, had enough chips that I wasn't so hungry anymore.

By this point, Domi's and my friend, Adam, had arrived at the house and had been talking about how his new X-Box had arrived at Gamers and he had to go pick it up. Apparently the new X-Box is shiny, and so Domi and I were to also go along to see it. I stopped playing the game, and we all went to Gamers. Outside the door of Gamers, was a friend of Domi's and Adam's, Athena. (That is a totally awesome name, by the way.) She was waiting for some friends, so we talked to her until they arrived. We were outside at least 15 minutes. I was already sunburnt, my tongue was still on fire, and the day was no longer so 'very nice', and more so 'very hot'. So while I enjoyed talking to Athena, I was dying from thirst and wanted very much to go inside. We did eventually go in, and while I was a bit skeptical as to going to Gamers in the first place, I was glad we did. I had my Poke'walker on my hat and got two people to connect with me. Yay.

Then we went back to the house. I was already hooked on Tales of Symphonia and was thinking, 'Yay! More playing!' But Domi wanted to play a racing game. I was fine with this, since I got to play with him, and any video games is better than no video games. We raced a few times, I think four or five, then we had to go pick up Domi's girlfriend from work. (She works at Nobbies. I was still thinking about Potter St. when we pulled into the parking lot, so I made a crack about it being a store for house elves... Nobody appreciates my jokes.)

This is where things got awkward. You see, Domi was my first boyfriend. We haven't been together for 4 years and even though we're split up we're still good friends... But I have a tendency to be close and flirty with all of my friends, which I have the sense not to do around the friend's date, at least until I know the date well enough to be close and flirty with them, too. I had never met Domi's girl before, and from what I'd been told, I had mixed feelings about her. You see, I want to get along with everyone, especially people that my friends like, but everything I had heard about this girl thus far made her sound like someone I wouldn't get along with, especially the fact that she knows I used to date Domi and already hates me. I can't get along with someone who doesn't like me.

However, when she got in the car, I did my best not to judge from previous statements, and she did her best to tolerate me. I soon learned, after we went to Adam's house to see his shiny new X-Box, however, that she is like me... In little ways. In the big ways that shape a person's personality, we were complete opposites. In little ways, like habits, quirks, or oddities, we were alike. This was very odd to me, and I found it slightly annoying. Being the girl who just can't shut up about things that I really shouldn't say, I told her that we were a lot alike and I found that weird. Despite the fact that she said it was okay, I still think it was a mistake. I know I certainly wouldn't like it if people I barely knew compared themselves to me. Who knows? That might have been one of the oddities we share alongside having rock hard calves, a tendency to lick people we like, and visible disappointment when we aren't winning a game. (We played Apples to Apples, one of my favorite games ever.)

So after I made Domi's girlfriend hate me worse, and decided that I didn't really care for her, either, Domi took her home, leaving Adam and me at Adam's house. Had I realized that the reason he was driving her home instead of just walking to her house, since she apparently lived really close, was that she wanted fast food, I would have asked to go along. (Granted, they probably preferred I didn't go along, since they're all date-y and need private time.) I was starving! The only things I'd had to eat in nine fraking hours aside from those chips were a cookie I was offered and a slice of cake I was offered. I was offered another slice of cake, granted, but I was pretty sure I had scarfed down that first piece really fast (at least compared to Domi who takes tiny bites and eats really slowly) and I didn't want to look even more piggish than I already did, so I turned it down.

While Domi and girlfriend were gone, I gathered the idea based on Adam and sister's actions that Domi and I were going to stay the night. (By the way, sometime during this crazy day's activities, Domi decided he would be willing to take me home himself if it meant more time he could spend with me.) I didn't like the idea of staying at Adam's house, but not because of Adam and not because I wasn't having fun. (I was totally having fun despite all this.) His parents smoke in the house. Long term exposure to cigarette smoke gives me every normal reaction to second-hand smoke you've ever heard of times ten. The smoky smell that clung to my clothes plus a bit of dog slobber from Adam's dog made me really feel the need to shower. That's reason one. Reason two was that I hadn't prepared to sleep over anywhere and while I'm not opposed to wearing the same clothes two days in a row, it isn't my favorite thing to do.

Reason three needs it's own paragraph because it's the biggest reason. I seriously would have been mostly okay with this if it weren't for this reason. In the basement of this house, which is also Adam's sister's room, is a Halloween decoration- a guy wearing prison clothes in an electric chair. It is right there in front of you when you walk down the stairs, and nearly gave me a heart attack the first time I saw it. It creeped me the hell out! I wasn't sure I would be able to sleep there and even if I did, I would certainly have nightmares. I was told that if you plugged it in, it would even shake and make noise. Having been told that, I couldn't help but imagine it shaking and screaming and electrifying and a ghost coming out and haunting me because I intruded the space of the electric chair guy. *shudder*

When Domi came back, I was reassured that I wasn't going to be staying there, only Domi, and that I would be taken home at midnight. Relieved, I watched the middle half of Avatar in blu-ray on a high-definition TV, which was theater quality, even though it wasn't as good as the first time I saw it because I first saw it on the IMAX in 3D. When midnight rolled around, Avatar was still playing, but apparently I was the only one thoroughly entranced with it, and I went home. Amazingly, I directed us there, despite my complete lack of navigational skills.

I drudged inside, got in trouble for not putting the mail on someone's chair instead of putting it on the phonebook rack, popped a couple frozen pizzas in the oven, downed 3 cans of sparkling water, ate, and fell asleep on the couch. What a day! I had a ton of fun, but also a ton of stress, and I woke up today with 5 new stress pimples. Yay.

Until next time,
Cap'n Kyrie

The New Banner

I would like to ask everyone if they like the new banner better or worse than the old one.

I think that this banner is more interesting to look at, but may be distracting from the blog, or perhaps too colorful or clashy.


But I didn't like how you could barely see the picture in the old banner, and the fonts were perhaps not the best choice.


Please everyone comment and let me know what you think.


Here is the old banner, if you are new and didn't see it (click to view full size):



Until next time,
Cap'n Kyrie

Random Topic - Cats vs. Dogs

Now, it should be clear from the title of this blog that I like cats. In fact, cats are my favorite creature on this planet! But I did not come to this conclusion without reasoning, which I will discuss with you now.

Cats are smarter than dogs. I am well aware of the fact that a dog's brain is larger than a cat's, but more of the dog's brain is dedicated to memory, and believe it or not, memory does not equal intelligence. I have a few examples of surprising intellegence shown by my cats, but I could ramble on and on about that and I don't want to bore anyone.

Dogs can be taught to protect you from intruding humans, but cats protect you from intruding spiders, bugs, mice, snakes, bats, and birds all on their own. Movies have a way of fooling the public. They make it look like a common dog will automatically know when a human isn't supposed to be there. Your dog may bark insanely when someone knocks on the door, but that usually is from excitement, not from territorial instincts. More often than not, a house dog will treat all humans as friends. Humans aside, how many house dogs go looking for things to hunt within the house? I'm sure if a large animal like a goose wandered into your house, the dog would notice, but rarely do they notice smaller creatures like mice or spiders unless they are in plain sight.

Cats are cleaner and have softer fur. I bathe my cats not even once a year, and they are usually perfectly clean and have soft fur despite that. A dog needs to be outside often where it gets all sorts of dirty and doesn't bother much to clean itself up, and unless it is bathed by a human frequently, not only will it be dirty, but its fur will be coarse and possibly greasy- much like human hair when the human doesn't shower regularly. And I don't care what science says, cats mouths are cleaner, too. I've never seen a cat eating another animal's feces. I can't honestly say the same for a dog.

Cats are lower maintenance than dogs, and can be just as loving and loyal. Dogs are needy little bitches. (Pun intended.) They need to be walked every day, they need to be outside more than once a day to do their business, they need regular bathing, and they need to be trained to do basic things, like not poop on the floor. Cats need food, their litter box cleaned once a week, and the occassional petting and lazerpointer session.

Cats CAN be trained! Do you train them the same as you would a dog? No, of course not! You don't train monkeys the same as you train a dog, either, but you see trained monkeys all the time. It all depends on how you do it. If you do it right, training a cat is just as easy as training a dog.

Now I want everyone to understand, this rant doesn't mean I don't like dogs. I like dogs just fine. I just like cats better. I'd like to own a dog someday, but I have no experience with owning dogs, and would need someone better qualified to help me out. That's why I want to raise a well-behaved dog with whoever I decide to end up with, before I ever have a kid. Because kids are scary, man. A higher maintenance pet than a cat would be good training and preparation.

Until next time,
Cap'n Kyrie

While We're Being Narcissistic, Let's Talk About My Hair

For those of you who don't know me, I've always had really thick, really healthy hair. After my shower yesterday I was looking at myself in the mirror and considering getting my hair cut really short, like the picture to the left. Pixie style. There are a lot of pros, but also a lot of cons.


Pro: It's a hair style I haven't tried for myself, yet, and I'd kind of like to try it.


Con: This hairstyle tends to look better on people who are very small, and I'm not small.


Pro: It's easier to brush my hair when it's short.


Con: When it grows out, it'll be right in my eyes.


Pro: It'll show off more of my pretty face. :-)


Con: I tend to get pimples around my hairline that are easier to cover up when my hair is longer.


Pro: I'm going to be balding and grey sometime in the future and I don't have long to experiment with different hairstyles.


Con: I looked in the mirror and I have two areas of my scalp right by my forehead that has significantly thinner hair than the rest of my head. I'm not entirely convinced that that's normal despite the fact that they're almost symmetrical, and I may even be starting to bald in those spots.


WTF I'm balding?!?!? I'm too young for this!


So I have two questions for my readers regarding my hair:

1.) Should I get my hair cut pixie style? Give reasons, please.

2.) What should I do about my crisis? I'm too young and pretty to go bald.


Until next time,
Cap'n Kyrie

What Have I Done?

So now that I've started my first blog, it seems that everyone I know is wanting to start a blog, as well. My friends, my mom, my dad... And I just know, just like every other fad I start, every single one of them will have more followers than mine. Cuz that's just how it is.

Everyone's had something like this happen to them: Wore a collar as jewelry to school one day. Put a pencil topper on a favorite pen. Cut the pinkies off of a pair of cheap gloves. Just some stupid thing that you wanted to do to, suddenly became popular and no one gave you credit.

Does that mean you stopped doing it? No! You did it cuz you liked it. Popularity didn't ruin it for you. Your favorite pen became more awesome with its pencil topper. That collar you wore had meaning behind it. Those gloves are convenient without pinkies for some reason.

And just like you kept doing those fads, long past the point of popularity, this blog will not die with its popularity! ... Or lack thereof, considering I can count the number of people who read this on one hand.

Until next time, and never fear, my finger fans, for there will be a next time,
Cap'n Kyrie

What? She's a Gamer, Too?

I know, I know. I'm just too perfect. (I'm joking, don't hate me, I'm joking.)

My friend and fellow MOB member, Domi, was ...discussing... games with me, and challenged me to write a blog post about a game I like. Okay, no problem. It would be much more of a challenge for me to write about a game we both like, since it seems we have opposing opinions on just about everything.

Do you still have your old consoles to play all of your old favorites? Good. Don't throw out your PS, because here's a worthwhile game, I'm betting you never played: Azure Dreams.

Azure Dreams is set in a hokey old desert town whose only real attraction is the giant tower it hosts. Why is this tower so popular? Because within its magical walls live thousands of monsters and treasures behold. And where thousands of monsters can be found, so can thousands of monster eggs. These eggs are valuable, because when a human raises a monster from an egg, it becomes the human's familiar and a potentially powerful ally.

You play as the son of a world famous monster trainer, Guy (I know, really creative name, right?), whose familiar, a Kraken, returned one stormy night from the tower without Guy leaving his wife to raise his two kids on her own. Since most of their income came from the tower, they've had to sell all of Guy's monsters and eggs to make ends meet. When you become of age (15- better than Pok'e'mon at age 11, but seriously, who lets their kids go off to do dangerous missions at age 15, either?) you set off into the tower to get treasures and monster eggs and live up to your father's name.

As you go along, not only do you get monsters and treasures, but everyone in the town who used to think you were a bratty little kid starts to respect you, girls who used to think you were icky start liking you, and the hokey little town you live in gets nicer and more attractive to outsiders.

I have only two complaints, but they're both kind of whiny, since both problems are completely intentional by the people who made the game.

First is, if you 'die' in the tower, you wake up in your bed as if you didn't go to the tower that day. You don't have anything in your inventory, including the things you went to the tower with. It's all gone. Yet, if you go to look at your monsters, whatever levels they gained while you were in the tower, they still have. And they've rigged it so that you can only load your save point once. If you load that save point a second time, they assume that you died and tried to restart, which is true most of the time, and it starts your game from the point that you would be if you had died in the tower. (I found a way around this, eventually, but you'll have to figure that out on your own. Bwa ha ha.)

Second is, you can only take 5 items into the tower with you. Usually, that's a monster, a weapon, a shield, a wind crystal (this allows you to come back from the tower with all of your stuff), and one other thing, which later on in the game is usually a second monster. Those red and blue sands you were saving for when you got a really nice weapon and shield, you have to take into the tower one at a time (without a second monster) to use on your stuff, because you can't use items outside of the tower.

Like I said, these are really picky things to complain about. In my opinion, with these being my only complaints, you gotta figure that the game overall is really good. Which it is. Seriously, it's a ton of fun!

Until next time,
Cap'n Kyrie

Levels of Con Savvy

or How a First Time Con-Goer Can Be More Respected Than You
Expert Level - Recognized and adored at every con he or she goes to. Either gets the reference or seems genuinely interested when he or she doesn't get it. Doesn't need to wear a costume, but has hand-made costumes in the past and understands the trials of doing so. Speaks like a normal person unless quoting something else.

Intermediate Level - Goes to one or more cons regularly and is recognized at those. Gets or pretends to get most references. Wears intricate costumes. Speaks normally most of the time.

Novice Level - Most con attendees. Loves the con community and goes to whatever they can. May not get most references, but is genuinely interested. Goal is to wear awesome costumes. Speaks normally most of the time.

Beginner Level - First time at a con and isn't quite sure where they fit in. Doesn't get most references. Little to no costume. Speaks like a normal person, because they haven't yet been tainted by Suckage Level.

Suckage Level - Has been to tons of cons 'because it's cool'. Is familiar with one or two anime that are more popular to normies than to most con-goers and refuses to be interested in anything else. Put no effort into their costumes whatsoever. Uses as many japanese words and phrases they can possibly incorporate into their conversation, most of the time incorrectly.

Am I forgetting anything? I can go back and edit.

Until next time,
Cap'n Kyrie

Stop Being So Negative!

So apparently I put myself down too much in my last post, and now I have to list my positives. Woohoo.

Uhmm. I'm honest, and pretty open. If you're my friend, I'll tell you just about anything. I am myself, always. The only time I'll act like something I'm not is on a stage or when roleplaying. Even then each character has an element of myself. You can tell me just about anything, and as long as the goal wasn't to insult me, I won't be offended... Actually, most of the time, even if you were trying to offend me, I'll laugh it off. If you can't laugh at yourself, after all, you have no right to laugh at others.

You have no idea how hard it is to talk about myself for so long without mentioning anything negative. I'm practically twitching, here. What do you mean, this isn't enough???

Grr... Okay... I'm a decent artist. I'm not half bad a writer. I can sing pretty well. I make an awesome spaghetti. I'm good at problem solving. I have really healthy hair.

Is this enough yet? What?!?! I can't think of any more! Augh, fine. Fine!

I shower regularly. I don't have any serious allergies. I have all of my fingers and toes. I don't have a deadly disease. I'm not horribly disfigured.

Hm? I can stop now? Finally.

Until next time,
Cap'n Kyrie

On Being a N00b

I am a n00b at this blog.

And at any blogging, really. I've never blogged before, though I've enjoyed the blogdome of other people's. Every time I thought, 'You know, I could do that,' but, of course, I never did. Until now. Right now, the blog design sucks, the blog content isn't all that great, and the blog in general just about blows... But that's expected of a first time blogger... It'll get better, I promise. I know basic HTML! Yay! ....It is yay, right?

I am a n00b at driving.

At age 18, two months away from being 19, I still cannot drive. I got my learner's permit at age 17.5 and after two lessons from my dad in our van am thoroughly terrified of being behind the wheel. I can admit that learning to drive is kind of vital to survive in the world. So I know I need to learn ASAP. After my second lesson during which I drove the van into a ditch however, I believe both my parents and myself are a bit reluctant to try again.

I am a n00b at anime... Sorta.
It's not like I've never watched anime, but after my first con (I've been to a total of three, so far.) I realized that I know next to nothing about anime, which is something I really didn't expect. There are thousands of references I didn't get. I really want to get them, too. They sound interesting. I can't speak Japanese. I know a small handful of words and how to count to six. I know how to spell even less, and none of it in characters. I like to wear costumes, but I can't stand making them. I have avoided Pok'e'mon since they started adding more than the first 151 like crazy, to the point that the original 150 are rarities. I mean, come on. The song went: 150, or more to see. Meaning that more than 150 are like brand new discoveries. Sorry, I'll stop ranting now... Anyway, I've gotten a little more tolerant, but only of the video games. I refuse to watch the series.

So maybe I'm not a n00b... more like a novice. I knew a lot of things before going to my first con that I was a bit more prepared than an actual n00b. I knew to avoid Narutards. I knew about the game. (Which you just lost, haha.) I knew that pirates are greater than ninjas. (leGasp!) I knew not to go wearing just cat ears. (Although I am a fan of cats in general, a plain catgirl I am not.) My opinion may not be shared by every con-goer, but at least it is my own. After I went to my first con, I also realized: These are my people. It was like I was an alien, and I had just found my planet.


I'm not a n00b about everything. I know who I am and what I want to be. That I think is the most important thing anyone can know.

Until next time,
Cap'n Kyrie