*yawns*

First off, the WTF? item for the day: I learned that some Japanese company has come up with a heated bra "not only help prevent global warming but also provide a little fashion chic to the office." O_o

I was flipping through a trade book on comics and other weird crap and saw that some manga called "Sequence" by Saenagi Ryo (which ran in Hana to Yume) was coming out soon in English. The art looked nice (bishies!), the blurb sounded okay (vampires!), but...is it any good? Does anyone know?

I also got xxxHOLIC volume 7 yesterday and immediately devoured it. Ah...how I adore this manga. I really wondered what kind of experiences Yuko must have had to become the woman that she is now. She couldn't have been born with this accepting attitude of cosmic balance and that her role (at least in regards to the people who want her to fulfill their requests) is only to facilitate their wish irregardless of whether it's a good idea or will bring about a favorable result. She couldn't have been born like that....and while I idly wonder about her story, I don't think I want to actually know. Part of her appeal is that she's mysterious, and knowing her backstory would take away from that. ( in any case, a bit more on the actual storyline )

I also picked up Tsubaba volumes 11 and 12, which I will read tonight. More stuff to read! Of course, what I'd really like is the rest of Black Cat. *sighs*

I got lots of sleep last night...apparently too much. Now I'm sleepy, and it's only 10 in the morning. What's up with that?

sucky sushi sucks

Ugh, I had awful sushi today. I foolishly decided to try a new sushi place near my workplace. Bad idea. I can’t believe how substandard that place is, even when you compare it to other take-out or kaiten sushi type places. I want some good sushi now. Maybe I’ll go buy some sushi-grade sashimi (tuna and hamachi, YUM) and some cucumbers (so good with ume paste!) and make some sushi rice, and eat tasty and not too expensive sushi. *sighs*

I learned yesterday that one of the top private schools in Hawaii exposes their students to foreign languages from an early age. They introduce their students to Chinese in first grade, Japanese in second, and Hawaiian in third. Then the students (or more like their parents) can choose to continue on with one of those languages in after school and/or summer classes. In seventh grade the students are given a bigger variety of classes that they can take. What struck me as how typically Hawaii is that none of the foreign languages they are exposed to as little kids are European. ^_^ It was part of a local radio program focused on foreign language (or more like lack of) in the U.S. I remember my roommate in college really regretting the fact that her parents never spoke to her in their native language, so that she could assimilate better into American society. And so she can’t speak the language of her ancestors at all.

GAH. Yet another instance of Fox News being….Fox News. A little report about how the House was dropping the provision to allow drilling for oil in ANWR…which was prefaced by a little spiel by the reporter saying isn’t it just common sense that the price of things go down when there’s more supply? Then he reports about the House with the emphasis that they went against that common sense logic, with this almost sneering aside that there were “environmental issues” regarding the issue. Can they be only a little more obvious about their bias? Grrr…

"bucho..."

Read a fic called Waremokou on ボブ姉の小部屋, which was written for Tezuka's birthday. While I don't really get this fic, I love the languid feel of her writing. I also love the image of the waremokou, the burnet, for Tezuka. Tezuka sort of forces himself on Ryoma, and when Ryoma protests Tezuka tells him that he's the "bucho." He asks, isn't the reason you call me bucho even though I am no longer the captain (he's retired from the team at this point) is because you want to submit to me? He tells Ryoma, "My name is Tezuka Kunimitsu. If you don't want to be ruled by me, call me by my name." That reason for Ryoma calling Tezuka bucho even after he technically isn't his bucho anymore appeals to me. ^__^

So what kind of flower is Ryoma? Hm...

I also came across a lovely image of another flower, the Fukujusou (Pleasant's eye):

( click for pretty pic )

Yes, I am a sucker for pretty close-ups of flowers. :P

Credits:
Waremokou pic taken from here.
Fukujusou pic taken from here.