Echo

No way! He would drink all your coffee!

Just wanted to say that I love CaliLily's new avatar!!! So cute!

We're off to my parents' for dinner tonight: filet mignon, Caesar salad, and roasted potatoes.

I had a Boboli pizza, just topped with sauce and a little Parmesan cheese as an early dinner, and then a bit ago I cooked up some rice in my cooker.

I've heard good things about Hellsing, and the artwork looks like it's right up my alley. I might have to try it out! I read most of my manga online, since most of the series get scanlated pretty quickly. That's how I'm able to keep up with Bleach and Black Butler, which are still ongoing. (I'm waiting for Bleach to come out tonight, in fact.) There are a ton of good sites.

Ruben, I've heard that Vagabond is good, but I've never read it. I've been reading (and watching) Black Butler (Kuroshitsuji) and it's become yet another addiction. It's amazing, amazing, amazing..... Oh, and I just received my Bleach box set. It includes the first 21 volumes, so I'm very happy today!

Date of Publication: Serialized 1976-1978 Biggu Komikku, Shogakkan (my edition: 2010, Vertical, Inc.) Number of Pages: 582 Synopsis (from Amazon.com): During a boyhood excursion to one of the southern archipelagos near Okinawa, Yuki barely survived exposure to a poison gas stored at a foreign military facility. The leakage annihilated all of the island’s inhabitants but was promptly covered up by the authorities, leaving Yuki as an unacknowledged witness–one whose sense of right and wrong, however, the potent nerve agent managed to obliterate. Now, fifteen years later, Yuki is a social climber of Balzacian proportions, infiltrating the worlds of finance and politics by day while brutally murdering children and women by night–perversely using his Kabuki-honed skills as a female impersonator to pass himself off as the women he’s killed. His drive, however, will not be satiated with a promotion here and a rape there. Michio Yuki has a far more ominous objective: obtaining MW, the ultimate weapon that spared his life but robbed him of all conscience. There are only two men with any hope of stopping him: one, a brilliant public prosecutor who struggles to build a case against the psychopath; the other, a tormented Catholic priest, Iwao Garai, who shares Yuki’s past–and frequently his bed. Review: Osamu Tezuka is often referred to as “the godfather of manga”, and his prolific career lasted decades and includes some very familiar titles, such as Astro Boy, Metropolis, and Black Jack. For the most part, his stories feature friendly and somewhat goofy characters, but MW is very different. The story is dark and disturbing, with no real hero to be found. But Tezuka manages to make even the psychotic and sadistic Yuki seem tragic and wronged, as if none of his crimes are his fault but are instead the result of events outside his control. At one point, I even found myself rooting for Yuki, as he struggled to find out who was responsible for covering up the MW leak. Tezuka weaves many themes through his story and tackles difficult subjects: the involvement of the United States in Japan, the acceptability of homosexuality, and the pressures of the business world. For those unfamiliar with manga, MW is a great place to start as it tells a compelling story through Tezuka’s amazing artwork, deep character development, and even a delightful yet sinister twist at the end. Overall, it’s a great read! Rating: 10/10

Thanks! I absolutely loved this manga, and I HIGHLY recommend it!!!

I've been having so much fun, getting all my used books in the mail from my Amazon marketplace order. But today, a big dog arrived....my Bleach boxset. The first 21 volumes! Oh, I'm such a happy manga nerd today!!!!

Date of Publication: 2010, Three Rivers Press Number of Pages: 266 Synopsis (from back cover): Tastier than a Twizzler yet more protein-packed than a spinach smoothie, Brain Candy is guaranteed to entertain your brain - even as it reveals hundreds of secrets behind what's driving that electric noodle inside your skull. These delicious and nutritious pages are packed with bits of bite-sized goodness swiped from the bleeding edge of brain science (including the reason why reading these words is changing your hippocampus at this very moment!). Shelved alongside these succulent neurological nuggets are challenging puzzles and paradoxes, fiendish personality quizzes and genius testers, and a grab bag of recurring treats including Eye Hacks, Algebraic Eight-Ball, iDread, Wild Kingdom, and Logic of Illogic. Review: This is one of those books that never gets old, no matter how many times you read it. It also has an almost magical ability to make you feel either really dumb or really smart. I found out things that made my various and very weird idiosyncracies seem justified. Did you know that my fear of teenagers actually has a name? It's called ephebiphobia. And I'm right in thinking that my boyfriend has the handwriting of a serial killer...he matches up well with the Zodiac Killer. And it seems my hours spent daydreaming are actually making me smarter! There are personality tests (I found out that I'm an intelligent, incredibly introverted, absurdly liberal neurotic), intelligence tests (despite the aforementioned personality test that proved my intelligence, I also seem to have a slight case of dementia), puzzles, eye teasers, incredible brain facts, and hundreds of other tidbits that altogether make for hours of kind of depression, often hilarious, and always enlightening fun. Rating: 10/10

Date of Publication: 2006, Viz Media Number of Pages: 224 Synopsis (from back cover): Meiko Inoue is a recent college grad working as an office lady in a job she hates. Her boyfriend Naruo is permanently crashing at her apartment because his job as a freelance illustrator doesn't pay enough for rent. And her parents in the country keep sending her boxes of veggies that just rot in her fridge. Straddling the line between her years as a student and the rest of her life, Meiko struggles with the feeling that she's just not cut out to be a part of the real world. Review: In a way, this is the manga version of Reality Bites. A group of misfit college graduates are struggling to find their place in the world of adults. They wish for independence and success, while at the same time wishing for the familiar security of childhood. This is a story that transcends culture and geography. One could find the same group of kids in any city, town, or hamlet in any part of the world. I definitely found myself identifying with each of the characters, as they found themselves questioning their direction in life. I, too, have felt that same detachment from the "real world", as if I just don't belong with the rest of society. But I'm convinced that even a reader who doesn't feel that kind of societal alienation will enjoy this story. Inio Asano does a beautiful job of developing her characters, combining her graceful artwork with her soulful words. Besides Meiko, the disillusioned office worker longing for something she can't yet define, we have her boyfriend, an underemployed freelance artist/wannabe rock star, and his band mates: the drummer who obediently works in his family's store, and the bassist is lingering on in his seventh year of college, refusing to grow up. They are all searching for happiness in a world that doesn't seem made for them. And when life becomes tragically real for them, they realize that it is their friendships that make their lives meaningful. Rating: 10/10

I like both. I've never decided against a book because of its perspective. As long as it's well-written, who cares?

I like that one!

That sounds familiar, but I can't think of it!

Isn't that shot from On the Waterfront?

Jersey Shore. My guilty pleasure.

I would leave Harry Potter in the YA section, along with Twilight and all the other recent TA fantasy series. They may be popular, but they are definitely not "classics". I'm sorry, but J.K. Rowling doesn't rank up there with Shakespeare, Austen, or Dickens in my opinion.

I just made my gorgonzola/cream cheese dip, which I'm eating with some French bread. Unfortunately, I accidentally bought regular blue cheese instead of gorgonzola, so it tastes a bit off, but it's still yummy.