「 A BEAST AT THE DOOR 」

My thoughts on Kony 2012

2012-03-15T08:13:17Z

Actually, let's let the Ugandans speak for themselves:

If you want to raise awareness for something, it is better that you talk about and raise awareness for Trayvon Martin, a black teenager who was shot by a white man while walking back from a 7-11. He was unarmed. His murderer has not been arrested yet and claims self defense. The kid had SKITTLES. And I point out their skin color because had it been the other way around? Homeboy would have gotten life already or at least arrested.

Warner Bros. to come out with Bleach movie?

2012-02-26T04:10:42Z

That.

Is.

My.

Worst.

Nightmare.

Writer's Block: B.Y.O.B. Holidays

2011-12-12T23:07:51Z

None, really. I do, however, get into the festive mood of the holidays. I also like to exchange gifts. :)

Knowing your technology is important.

2011-10-31T19:43:10Z

I bought a Droid a couple months ago, and even though I knew that I wasn't going to have my hand held like Apple users did, I ultimately gained a lot more freedom with how I wanted to use my phone and how it looked. Today, it shut itself off after a failed update and refused to restart. After some reading up, I found out that it had something to do with me rooting my phone (for iPhone users, it's sort of like jailbreaking...Sort of.) Thankfully, someone on one of the forums had a really quick fix and I was good again.

There is a certain responsibility you have to take when it comes to owning electronic devices, and I'm happy I was able to solve it myself. It's a waste of money to take your phone to the store, have the assistants puzzle over it, then finally tell you that you need a replacement or buy a new phone. Whenever something goes wrong with my laptop or any other device I have, I always think back to my tech writing professor. He mentioned that people call up tech assistants hoping for miracles when they should have really familiarized themselves with the product first. When you familiarize yourself with your product, you're able to communicate better with the assistants and in return, they are better able to help you.

Just some random thoughts I was thinking about when trying to get my phone to work again. It's perfectly fine now. :)

Writer's Block: Night tremors

2011-10-27T23:38:39Z

I constantly worry about my future, whether I'm accomplishing enough things or not. My lack of inspiration for writing lately has also been at the back of my mind. I really want to do NanoWriMo, but find that I don't really have the motivation or drive to do it. I failed the previous two years, and I really don't see things being any different this year. I'm not trying to be negative or anything, but that's the realistic outlook of things right now. I do want to carry out the plot that I had last year because I really think I was going somewhere with that story. I'm in love with the idea of having a companion that can transform into an animal and fight with you. So, if I do participate in Nano, I'll probably try and continue with that. But a brand new start, of course. Well, I have a couple of days to decide, and then I guess I'll have to forego the outline this year. I was also thinking about picking a very obscure fairytale (not sure from which region of the world, but most likely from China or Japan) and putting a very modern twist on it. That seems to be popular nowadays, and I think I'd have a lot of fun writing a modern fairytale.

But yeah, I guess what keeps me up at night is worrying about whether I'm a failure or not at life in general. I want to do more things for my family, but I'm stuck in school still for at least another year. And then afterwards, I'll be doing something I don't really like. I feel like I'm stuck in a limbo, and I hate that feeling.

Paranormal Activity 3

2011-10-26T06:38:57Z

The movie made no sense within the context of the previous films. My confusion with what they were trying to do with the story overrode my sense of fear, so I give the movie a D. It was basically like the first two, in terms of how they get the audience to react, but the appeal wore off for me once I realized it was just the same old thing. I was most irritated by how they changed the story, so now it makes no sense whatsoever. :/ I guess that's what happens when you milk something so dry.

House sorting

2011-08-26T01:53:56Z

Your result for The Sorting Hat: A Comprehensive Harry Potter Personality Assessment [Test/Quiz]...

Ravenclaw

51% Ravenclaw, 49% Hufflepuff, 44% Slytherin and 47% Gryffindor!

Or yet in wise old Ravenclaw,

if you've a ready mind,

Where those of wit and learning,

Will always find their kind;

The cardinal traits of Ravenclaw are intellect, wit and openness to experience. They are the most introverted house of the four. Ravenclaws are more likely to prefer small gatherings of like-minded individuals and require recooperation after stressful social interaction. These individuals are intuitive creatures, the quintessential researchers. They lack the stubborn, strict, and rule-abiding qualities that would inhibit intellectual growth—one can't be too set in their ways if they are to be open to exploring new ideas and paths of thought.In contrast to Slytherin and Gryffindor, Ravenclaws in general are much more emotionally stable. Their reactions seem dampened compared to the sometimes dramatic responses of the other houses—they're much less likely to get offended, they're more open to criticism, not particularly argumentative and interested in hearing different points of view. They can at times seem to be less interested in people and more interested in their own inner world, and appear to be disconnected from the rest of humanity.

Ambition is secondary to them. Although they may strive to excel in school, knowledge and self-enrichment is the primary goal as opposed to simply wanting good marks. If they do happen to strive for excellence, it is because it fits with their other goals, not out of a desire to be superior or the best. Due to their intuitiveness and willingness to listen, Ravenclaws can be empathetic and make good advisors. They should generally leave leadership roles to people who are more extraverted and who would enjoy them more, however.

Take The Sorting Hat: A Comprehensive Harry Potter Personality Assessment [Test/Quiz] at HelloQuizzy

Good old anime and jpop songs.

2011-08-12T08:58:20Z

The gist of my entire day went like this: got a jpop song stuck in my head, have no clue which anime (or if it was from an anime at all), and then spend the rest of the day desperately finding what it is because I know it would bug me for THE REST OF MY LIFE.

It was Houko's Flowin~, but oh my god, the entire day, I was like "Itsumademo...Tsuzuiteku...Aozora...Something, something, something...DAMN IT WHAT IS IT!" But what came out of it was remembering some really good songs like HAL's Starry Night and a lot of great Megumi Hayashibara hits. So good times was had.

And just because you're alive, doesn't mean you're living.

2011-07-28T01:52:45Z

Livejournal, stop this. I miss you when you're away!

Also: talented people are talented.

LEGEND OF KORRA TEASER

2011-07-24T00:55:07Z

THE TEASER TRAILER IS OUT. WHAT. OH MY GOD. /TEARBENDING THIS MOMENT.

http://www.twitvid.com/PG90G

Guys, I am legit crying at this. I MEAN THAT SCORE KINDA GOT TO ME.

This is awkward because I'm watching a blurry small screen inside of a screen just for the trailer and crying.

indefiance @ 2011-07-23T15:07:00

2011-07-23T22:07:19Z

First of all, I send all my metta to Norway. Innocent people should never have to suffer from the insanity of a terrorist. I am disturbed by the event and by the media (read: Western media / read also: American media) trying to pin the blame on Muslims, either by falsely accusing Muslims (some newsources haven't even bothered to correct their unprofessional journalism) or putting ultimate blame on them ("the attacks were influenced by Muslim attacks.") I mean, why is it only terrorism when it is being commited by Muslims? When it's done by a right-wing, white, Christian man, it's extremism, and not just that, but extremism influenced by Muslim terrorists?

An article you should read: http://www.salon.com/news/opinion/glenn_greenwald/2011/07/23/nyt/index.html

I've posted a small excerpt here:

What it says is what we’ve seen repeatedly: that Terrorism has no objective meaning and, at least in American political discourse, has come functionally to mean: violence committed by Muslims whom the West dislikes, no matter the cause or the target. Indeed, in many (though not all) media circles, discussion of the Oslo attack quickly morphed from this is Terrorism (when it was believed Muslims did it) to no, this isn’t Terrorism, just extremism (once it became likely that Muslims didn’t)

And on that same breath, I send my loving thoughts to Amy Winehouse's friends and family as well. Addiction is a horrible thing and claims so many lives, and unfortunately, we lost another one to it. ):

indefiance @ 2011-07-21T17:38:00

2011-07-22T00:38:03Z

I'm so in love with her already, and the show hasn't even aired yet! The above picture was released at SDCC (I wouldn't know, I wasn't there /SOBBBING/)

LOL my funny refrigerator cat.

2011-06-21T07:34:53Z

Raspy loves the refrigerator, I have no idea why...I mean, inside is cool, but the top of it is quite warm, so I doubt he's up there to cool himself lol. Anyway, while sniffing around, he found my fruit roll-ups and....

Pretty sure he was flehming, but...LOL it looks hilarious.

And also, it is getting too hot. I'm going to escape to either San Francisco or Half Moon Bay tomorrow lol. Because 102 degrees? NO THANK YOU.

OMG

2011-04-29T23:26:13Z

I CAN'T WAIT! I can't believe it's ending. I said that when the books were finished, but now.../SOB/ I can't believe it's all over.

Why I should never read Rotten Tomato comments sometimes

2011-04-20T07:16:11Z

This gem from someone who has no problem with the Akira casting. And yes, it is important to note that he is white:

The Reaper on 04-19-2011 02:59 PM
Get over it, Asians and other minorities that complain about everything. I'm so sick of this "reverse" racism. I'm "white" though I don't consider myself any color but rather a human being, and no one has ever given me anything. I've worked for things I've gotten in life.

I pick his quote because I see so many people saying this or variations of it. We should pick actors for talent, not race. Casting should not be on the basis of race alone. I'd rather have the right actor play the role than a racially accurate one. Those are all the arguments I keep hearing over and over again. Before I touch upon all of that mess, let me first address this fool's comments. Apparently fighting social injustice and racism is whining. Apparently, reverse (in quotation marks for more intelligence!) racism exists! "White" is now imaginary and arbitrary! White people don't enjoy privileges at all! They don't get hired more or fired less often than minorities! Nope! Except that they do. I don't care how hard he's had to work! He was given white male privilege the moment he was fucking born. I don't think he had to work for that.

And since the comment was directed towards Akira, arguments seem to be: They took the story out of Japan! It's in AMERICA now! They don't have to cast Asian and/or Japanese people! I have a few complaints in response to that:

1) Whine about casting for talent when everyone has a fair and equal chance in casting. The Akira casting calls handpicked white male leads. Is that casting purely based on talent?

2) When MNS tried to his damned best to convince us that his actors were absolutely right for the parts, did people believe him? Some did. Were they best for the part? No, they were shitty actors who became shittier under a shitty director. But talent is so important and an objective opinion!

3) They took the story out of Japan. Guess what? America is even more racially diverse than Japan! Why is the cast so lily-white?

But noooo, we live in a perfect world where everyone gets hired based on talent! Race doesn't matter, and my own people aren't erased by Hollywood casting standards every single day! I can't even think of a day when minorities are readily cast based on their talent (har har), and I can't even begin to think of a day when minorities are accurately cast in their roles. I am so fucking tired of white apologists. I'm tired of non-white people telling me how they're Asian and don't see a problem with it. What am I supposed to say? So sorry about your ignorance, you should read up on white privilege before you talk to me, otherwise I will verbally smack you to the ground? It's not my job to educate you.

So in response to this fool: Is this complaining too much? Am I exhibiting my reverse racism again? If I am, you can call a fucking whaaaambulance. I'm sure it's been so hard for you and your white privilege.

ETA: And no, I didn't reply all that to him. I don't have a RT account. I just figured it was better getting my rage out on my own journal than having a pointless internet argument with a dim witted person.

Love the new SNSD song!!

2011-04-17T22:31:08Z

Their songs are always so damn catchy! ♥

Hanna Movie Review

2011-04-11T04:49:24Z

You know, I had this huge review planned for Hanna...But now I've kinda lost wind. Hanna was one of those movies I was really excited for, and like most movies this year so far, it was mostly disappointing. The tl;dr version of my review is...I think Hanna tried to be a meaningful, high-art film, but it ended up falling short of that. It was just another escapist/revenge movie, and to be honest, it felt a lot like a Matt Damon film. Lots of running. Saoirse Ronan gave a solid performance and so did Eric Bana, but the story and the emotions completely fell flat. Such a disappointment. It had so much potential! OH, and I also loved The Chemical Brothers. B-

There was one thing I really enjoyed about the movie, besides Saoirse's performance. It was the fact that they made Hanna's sexuality ambiguous, though I think they tried to lean more towards her being a lesbian. But I love that it was all about exploring - her time out of the forest was all about exploration. I adored her friendship/relationship with the girl (forgot her name, but if you saw the movie, you'll know who I'm talking about.)

The one major gripe I had about the movie was the fact that they explained next to nothing. You had no idea why Cate Blanchett's character wanted to kill all the 'super soldier children.' You had no idea why she cried while talking to Eric. And just the fact that Hanna was a 'super human' was ridiculous. I think they should have kept the idea that Eric trained her to be a total badass to get revenge for her mother WITHOUT having altered DNA. Perhaps the movie was too short. I definitely think it should have been longer.

Another major gripe about the movie was...Don't get me wrong, Saoirse is a really good actress for her age and she gives emotion to Hanna, but the writing for Hanna was so flat. You didn't know if she felt anything - maybe confusion because she'd never been outside of the forest? BUT THAT'S IT. When her father died, it was so anti-climatic. As a viewer, I felt emotionally ripped off.

Also, there were so many times when she could have just taken care of the thugs (who I assume killed the family she was travelling with; I guess she didn't care about them either), yet she chooses to run! OH MY GOD. I was so frustrated! Even near the end when her dad tells her to run because the bad guys are coming. WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? You trained her to be a ruthless killer who should be prepared! Why would you tell her to run? Both of you could have taken care of the problem! Oh my god, it was just so frustrating.

So yeah, I was disappointed with this movie, but not as much as I was with Sucker Punch (which is why SP didn't even get a review lol. I gave it a F)

Writer's Block: It's cold outside

2011-04-09T00:24:18Z

LOLLL. What a ridiculous way to phrase a question. People are perfectly capable of adapting to their environment. My nieces from MN will get cold in (gasp) CALIFORNIA weather after about a week of living here. And I got used to MN weather when I lived there for a couple of months. Right now, I'd say low 50s is too cold for me. That's when I start shivering and needing to put on sweaters. Buuuut if I were to choose, I'd take cold weather over hot weather. I always dread summers because of how hot it gets here (cue people from Arizona thinking it's funny how I think high 80s-90s is too hot, though I guess it does get to be about low 100s here sometimes) I think fall and spring are just perfect.

AWARENESS: Hollywood casting of 'Akira'

2011-03-24T01:25:11Z

I've never seen Akira, but from what I'm hearing...Hollywood plans on keeping the Asian names but making all the characters WHITE. You can read more about that on Racebending.com, but I've copied and pasted a short excerpt from them here for you:

Hollywood is adapting the classic manga and anime AKIRA to the silver screen. Given the current lack of lead roles for actors of color in the science fiction genre, the complex characters of AKIRA would be a great opportunity for Asian American actors. Will directors Albert and Allen Hughes cast Asian American actors to play the iconic roles of Kaneda and Tetsuo?

The latest draft script for Akira is reportedly set in “Neo-Manhattan” instead of Neo-Tokyo. Given the prominence and popularity of the original Akira, we know fans will be closely following the development of this Warner Bros. production. On March 22nd, 2011, Deadline.com reported that eight actors have been invited to audition–all of the actors are white.

More information coming soon
TAKE ACTION!

1. Retweet our Tweet about the situation to help get the word out. On March 22nd, we were featured on the front page of Twitter.

2. Join the Facebook Petition and tell your friends so we can get an exact number of people who are upset about the decision to whitewash this film.

3. Blog about the situation on your own blog and/or encourage your favorite bloggers to do the same.

Go to http://www.racebending.com/v4/campaigns/akira-2011/ for more information.

Caution before you donate to Japan

2011-03-16T01:40:41Z

An article posted by echowillow has brought to my attention that you are probably better off researching which organizations are directly donating to Japan and donating 100%.

Article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/16/world/asia/16charity.html

This is not to discourage you from donating. Rather, it is sort of an added amendment to my earlier post of charities for Japan. Please note that these are charities, and if you've already donated, at least it is to a charity that does good anyway.

HELP JAPAN.

2011-03-12T04:57:44Z

- AMERICAN RED CROSS - U.S. mobile phone users can text REDCROSS to 90999 to add $10 automatically to your phone bill. Or visit http://www.redcross.org or call 1-800-RED-CROSS

- INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS - Sending relief teams and supplies to the area. Call 1-800-481-4462 or visit http://internationalmedicalcorps.org.

- SAVE THE CHILDREN - The relief effort providing food, medical care and education to children is accepting donations through mobile phones by texting JAPAN to 20222 to donate $10. People can also call 1-800-728-3843 during business hours or visit www.savethechildren.org/japanquake to donate online.

- GLOBAL GIVING - The non-profit which works through grassroots efforts says Americans can text JAPAN to 50555 to give $10 through their phone bill. Or visit http://www.globalgiving.org/.

- INTERACTION - The group is the largest alliance of U.S.-based international nongovernmental organizations and lists many ways to help on its site, http://www.interaction.org.

- NETWORK FOR GOOD - The aggregator of charities has a list of programs and ways to donate to relief efforts. Visit http://www.networkforgood.org.

And more:

World Vision, with a staff of 75 in Japan, focuses its relief efforts on children. Visit the website to donate, or call 1-888-56-CHILD (1-888-562-4453). You can text “4JAPAN” or “4TSUNAMI” to 20222 to donate $10.

The mGive Foundation, which helps with mobile donations, said these groups are also accepting text-based donations: Convoy of Hope, text TSUNAMI to 50555 to donate $10; World Relief Corp. of National Association of Evangelicals, text WAVE to 50555 to donate $10. “When prompted, mobile donors should reply with YES to confirm a one-time gift,” the foundation says. “The $10 one-time donation will appear on the donor’s next mobile bill. All donations are tax deductible and receipts may be printed” from the mGive site. “Message and data rates may apply.”

The Salvation Army, which has had a presence in Japan since 1895, is sending an assessment team from Tokyo to the city of Sendai “to assess damage and will begin providing basic necessities (food, water, etc.) beginning as soon as possible tonight or tomorrow,” a spokesperson said. In Tokyo, the Salvation Army ”opened its main building to help shelter commuters who were unable to reach home. They served hot drinks and packed meals.” You can text JAPAN or QUAKE to 80888 to make a $10 donation to the Salvation Army’s relief efforts.

Japan

2011-03-11T10:27:22Z

My thoughts go out to everyone in Japan.

They just issued a nuclear emergency statement.

Oh my god. May they all be well.

Update with list of useful sources and notes:

- Al-Jazeera
- BBC News stream
- The WIKI article is up.
- As of 5:10 A.M my time, the death toll is 60 in Japan.
- No radiation leak
- Predicted for future major tsunamis coming as late as next week, up to 8.1 in magnitude. Might well go over some Pacific Islands.
- OHNOTHEYDIDNT POST * they are pretty good at updating with news in the comments, just ignore some of the "I JUST WOKE UP AND SAW THIS OMGGG" comments.

Nikita

2011-03-10T23:05:32Z

WHY OH WHY DIDN'T I WATCH NIKITA BEFORE? But now that I have, I'm all caught up with the episodes.

It is so, so good. I can look past some minor story plotholes and just concentrate on the epicness that is Nikita. Also, her relationship with Alex is just so damn sweet. The whole sensei/student thing is adorable. Watching their emotional scenes always gets to me.

AND MICHAEL. LOL. WHY DOES HE EVEN BOTHER GOING AFTER NIKITA? Every time he's like, "I'll go get her," I'm cackling with glee because I'm thinking, ...LOL NO YOU WON'T. SHE WILL OWN YOU LIKE THE PAST OTHER 15 EPISODES.

So, in short, I love this show. The CW promos do not do their shows justice at all. I avoided Nikita because while I was excited for an Asian female lead (one that is VIETNAMESE, by the way!), I did not like the way she was propped up as a sexy ninja type in the promos. So I avoided it, thinking that it was going to paint Asians in a stereotypical, objectified fashion. But it's not like that at all. I'm so relieved. AND PISSED OFF AT THE CW. They really need to stop messing up their promo ads.

Also, it's funny as hell seeing Pyro as a computer nerd lol.

Just a fly by SQUEE POST about V SPOILERS

2011-03-09T07:13:36Z

Sorry this is so short. And it's under a cut because of spoilers

And it's basically all squee and fangirl.

JOSHUA REMEMBERS!

JOSHUA REMEMBERS!!!!!!

AND THE FACES HE MADE WHEN HE REMEMBERED? SOOOOO ADORABLE. OH MY GOD.

ALL THE CUTE FACES.

GONNA MAKE ICONS OF ALL THE FACES.

/INCOHERENT MESS

Ain't nothing gonna break my stride...

2011-03-08T00:21:22Z

Nothing but happy news lately! First, Legend of Korra promo picture and the promise that Dante Basco will be voicing someone ZUKO-RELATED (SWOON!)

And now, definite rumors (more like confirmation) from Ausiello that Chloe will be back for the finale!

*Crosses fingers for one last Chlark/Chlo-lo scene*