Home
Sweet Cantarella [entries|archive|friends|userinfo]
DarkCyradis

[ userinfo | livejournal userinfo ]
[ archive | journal archive ]

Fantastic article on the complete history of FFVII [Jun. 13th, 2008|10:35 am]
[Tags|, , ]
[Current Location |A lovely web of memories]
[Current Music |"The Highwind Takes to the Skies" - FFVII OST]

Hey all,

Just wanted to plug this FANTASTIC article on the phenomenon that is Final Fantasy VII. 

If you've ever been curious as to what this humongous franchise is that spawned a sequel movie, game and three prequel games TEN YEARS after its initial release, you should read this article. 

For those who've played the game, it'll make you nostalgic like crazy and also probably teach you a few things you didn't know about the game's production, Square's split with Nintendo, how Tetsuya Nomura got the job as chara designer, etc--it's a really well-researched article. It also mentions all the little tidbit spin-offs that you may not hear about as much (Cloud-tachi's appearance in Ergheiz, Zack's tribute OVA Last Order, and the short stories by Tetsuya Nomura about Denzel, etc. (did you know someone actually wrote a whole novel about Aerith's adventures in the Lifestream after her death??))

Anyway, just wanted to send it a long because it is a very good piece of writing and a great, one-shot summation of everything there is to know about this phenomenon that grew from a single, ground-breaking video game. I hope you guys will take some time to read it--it's very worthwhile! ^^

Happy Friday!!

Link1 comment|Leave a comment

Same-sex marriage is legal in California!!! [May. 20th, 2008|09:00 am]
[Tags|, ]
[Current Location |Cubicle City]
[Current Mood | elated]
[Current Music |"Is This Love?" by Ayumi Hamasaki]

I know, apparently this is old news now, but I somehow COMPLETELY missed it! (haha, shows you the power of media bias, huh?) Just saw this article about George Takei (Sulu from Star Trek) preparing to marry his long-time partner of 21 years-- good for him~! And congrats to all my gay brothers and sisters out there~~~!!!!! ^_______________________________^

That totally made my day!!!

~Cy 
(Yes, 2 posts within 12 hours of each other...I'm a little shocked myself... ^^; ) 

LinkLeave a comment

Prince Caspian reivew and X-men the MANGA [May. 19th, 2008|10:32 pm]
[Tags|, , , ]
[Current Location |Southern Californian Unseasonable Heat Wave :: sweat ::]
[Current Mood | amused]
[Current Music |"Pegasus Fantasy (cover" by Shu-Xin]

Hey all~

How's it going? Not too many things with me--saw Prince Caspian yesterday and thoroughly enjoyed Prince Caspian the first half of the movie. Then...when our unspeakably gorgeous hero finally met up with the Pevensie kids (aka "Kings and Queens of Legend"), things didn't go as well as I'd hoped it would.


In other news, I just had to share one thing--it seems DelRey is making its first foray into the realm of OEL (Original English Language) manga with a *cough*shoujo manga version of X-men (yes, scream, run, be afraid @_@;;; ) and a shounen manga style story about Wolverine...  =_=; I applaud their support of OEL manga, but... ... ... Well, take a look at the character designs and tell me if you don't feel a bit apprehensive.


Well, I do have to admit, the Beast is very cute. ^^;;;;;;;;;

Fafner fans, hang in there--I'll try to do the GONE/ARRIVE translation some time during Memorial Day Weekend. ^^;;;

OH! And I'm going to the Nightwish concert (again) down in San Diego this Friday. ^^;; Hahah, well, it'll give me a chance to see how much Anette has improved after 9 months of touring, huh? Should be fun~ ^^

~Cy
LinkLeave a comment

New Fafner fanfic, "NOW HERE" Download and updates [Apr. 18th, 2008|03:04 pm]
[Tags|, , , , , , ]
[Current Location |At work ^^;;]
[Current Mood | chipper]
[Current Music |"Somewhere to Belong" by Linkin Park]


Hey guys!

Guess what--I wrote a new fic! ::plug:: It's a Fafner one that I had actually written a few years ago in the heyday of my Fafner love, but I just thought of an ending last night and finally finished it. ^^;; For once, it's angst-free and pure comedy (though there's a teeny bit of shounen-ai in there, too ^^--of course <3).

Please read it on ff.net here and review~ <3

The Answering Machine: A Fairy Tale - no spoilers, humor, mild shounen-ai (SouKazu)

Also, I uploaded the second Fafner drama track "NOW HERE" for a friend and thought I'd stick it up here in case any of you hadn't heard it yet. Really, REALLY superb acting~! http://download.yousendit.com/62B0A7705C081DCE

As for me, all is going well enough--my freelance writing career is getting its official start (ooh, that's right! Check out my new website here: www.redcreststudios.com ) and I am now translating manga for TOKYOPOP--woot!! Dunno if I'm allowed to talk about the new series that haven't been published yet, but I can tell you about Never Give Up! -- I'll be the official translator starting with volume 10! It's a pretty funny series (and very entertaining for a Takarazuka fan like me, since the series stars a tall girl who looks like a hot guy :D), and you've gotta love that the 2 love interests are named "Touya" and "Akira." ^^;;;;;;; Hahaha, I guess it's safe to say the author is a Hikago fan... :D

Okay, I don't wanna put this under a cut, so I'll stop here before it gets too long. Hope you all are well and having some nice spring weather~! <3 (please read and review the fics!)

Yours,
Cy
Link8 comments|Leave a comment

Now THAT's how you handle a sitcky situation! [Mar. 18th, 2008|09:29 am]
[Tags|, , ]
[Current Mood | impressed]
[Current Music |"Via Dolorosa" by Abingdon Boys School]

Hey guys,
 
Don't know if you all have heard about the race remarks the preacher at Obama's church made, but this was Obama's response and I think it's INCREDIBLE how he handled it!
 
 
He manages to disagree with the divisive nature of the rev's remarks while acknowledging that racism is still a reality in this country without getting on the "minority soapbox"--he expresses hope for the change that has happened and for what will happen in the future instead. On top of that, while condemning the rev's remarks and removing him from being spiritual advisor of his campaign, he doesn't condemn the man who, whatever we may think of him, is an old and personal acquaintance of Obama's. Very nicely handled all around! If Hillary doesn't make it for the candidacy, I'd still be pretty happy backing Obama. :)
 
Speaking of Hillary, props to her, too--in this recent bout of mud-slinging her campaign (okay, really, both campaigns) have been engaged in, she could've jumped all over this. But she didn't, saying this was something for Obama to handle, and I really respect that restraint. Yay for Oballary!!
 
~Cy
LinkLeave a comment

Yuna Ito x Celine Dion Single!! [Feb. 20th, 2008|11:57 pm]
[Current Music |"Cold" by Lacuna Coil]

OH MY GOD, worlds are colliding.

Yuna Ito and CELINE DION?!?!?! It sounds insane, but yes, they know each other--they released a single together, and it's gorgeous and amazing and the jaw-dropping moments just don't end!



Lovely cover album, huh? I wondered if they were doing this as part of some Japan-Canadian sports event or something, but I haven't heard anything yet.

Anyway, the song is called "A World to Believe In ~Anata ga Iru Kagiri~" ("As Long as You're Here/With Me") and this single was released on January 16, 2008. Very sweet song and OMG Yuna Ito is amazing! I already had a healthy respect for her voice from her awesome debut single "Owaranai Story," but seriously--you don't *really* appreciate her voice until you hear this song. She's so young and she's truly able to keep up vocally with Celine Dion, one of the premier divas of the world! Just beautiful! And what's even better is that Celine Dion sings in Japanese at some points! Mostly *with* Yuna, but I swear there was one "wasurenaide~~~" that was all Celine! :D

You can hear the song online here: A World to Believe In ~Anata ga Iru Kagiri~

(and in fact, as of right now, you can download it, too, if you make a free esnips account like I have ^__~)

Anyway, just had to share the amazingness of this find. Hope you enjoy it~ :D

RABU,
Cy ^^
LinkLeave a comment

Hase, the Giant Pink Bunny Rabbit lying in the Italian countryside [Feb. 6th, 2008|10:40 am]
[Tags|, ]
[Current Location |Standing in a fuzzy pink landscape]

Just to show that art can take the most unusual forms, check this out:

http://archidose.blogspot.com/2005_09_01_archive.html

I especially love the artists' explanation of how wonderful it will feel to come upon this utterly random giant pink bunny rabbit lying out in the middle of nowhere and how happy you'll feel climbing all over it like maggot... ^^;; LoL! The narration is so tongue-in-cheek, but there's a strange sense of trueness in it. And stumbling upon a giant pink bunny in the middle of nowhere might actually be fun and fantastic in a Miyazaki-esque way. ^__^ What will they think of next?

In other news, I wrote a new fanfic! It's very short and in an unusual abrupt/fast-paced style for me. Check it out if you have time~ (it's a Saint Seiya fic) http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4054787/1/Devotion

P.S. Go Hillary! ::waves Hillary flag::
LinkLeave a comment

New Year's Resolutions & Shtuff [Jan. 16th, 2008|10:55 pm]
[Tags|, , , ]
[Current Location |Here on earth]
[Current Music |"Overnight" - Le Chevalier D'eon ED Theme]

Hey guys!

Happy New Year, belated as it is! ^____^ Figured it was about time I unchained myself from work and updated here.

( You know what this means--New Year's resolutions!  )

And here's a quick run-down of cool things I've found lately:

( Le Chevalier D'eon, The Lady, and TRC )

Hope you all are having a refreshing and invigorating new year, too! :D

RABU,
Cy
LinkLeave a comment

The first stirring of patriotic hope in my heart in 7 years! [Jan. 3rd, 2008|11:11 am]
[Tags|, , , , , ]
[Current Location |On her soapbox]
[Current Music |The Legend OST]

Hey guys,
 
If you were humoring ideas of voting for Obama, take a look at this: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2008/01/03/supreme-court-justice-bill-clinton/
 
Just imagine... Bill Clinton, sagaciously setting down precedents for law interpretation for all the ages of America to come... (and he's got at least another good 30 years or so to do it!) I'm not saying Obama couldn't appoint Bill to the Supreme Court too, but who really knows what his agenda will determine in the end. Come on, Hillary! You have to win now!!
 
All you Republicans out there, the Democratic candidates have never been so conservative; clear your prejudices and take a look at Hillary's platform, you may end up finding a brilliant lady worth supporting, regardless of her party affiliations. :)  

For the politically undecided, here's a nice quiz to see which candidate matches up with your stances on various platforms.

(Not to mention, all you writers, Huckabee, your most promising Republican candidate, crossed the Writers' Guild picket lines yesterday to go on Leno. What does that tell you about how much he values and believes in our art, eh?)

--Cy  
Link4 comments|Leave a comment

Ever bought from AnimeNation before? [Nov. 24th, 2007|01:54 pm]
[Current Location |Holiday Shopping Madness Land]
[Current Music |"Into the Night" by Santana & Kroeger]

Hey guys,

In need of a different kind of advice this time: has anyone ever bought from AnimeNation.com before? They've got the cheapest prices around on Le Chevalier D'eon, which I'm loving madly after watching the first 2 DVDs, and I wanted to buy the rest while AN.com's offering free shipping on orders over $49 this month.

BUT, I'm always a little anxious ordering from a new place because I've heard horror stories about how some things get back-ordered and end up taking months to arrive. So... have you had a good or bad experience with them?

Thank you! (and yes, I'm still working on the novel!)
Link2 comments|Leave a comment

HELP!!!! [Nov. 15th, 2007|09:17 am]
[Tags|, , , , ]
[Current Location |18th C France? =__=;]
[Current Mood | confused]
[Current Music |"Our Solemn Hour" by Within Temptation]

Guys, I need your help.

I just don't know whether to continue with my current NaNoWriMo novel or not. I'm at 4290 words right now, which isn't much, but it's 4290 words less than I'd have to write if I started over. And I vaguely have events plotted to happen... but no idea how it ends up, etc.

Oh, and I've never taken a class on French history. @___@; And I don't speak French. This could be very, very bad.

So, I've decided to ask your advice-- please read this little opening excerpt and tell me whether it's worth continuing or not. I like my characters very much, but if it's boring already, then I'd probably best just start again.

Link21 comments|Leave a comment

NaNoWriMo - National Novel Writing Month! [Nov. 13th, 2007|09:20 am]
[Tags|, ]
[Current Location |NaNoWriMo Hell]
[Current Mood | frustrated]
[Current Music |"Our Solemn Hour" by Within Temptation]


So... I'm actually doing it. @_@

My fellow artists and writers, in case you haven't heard, it is now National Novel Writing Month. I'm going to take on the challenge of writing a novel straight out of my butt for no other reason than it'll be crazy, stressful and fun as hell! (or so they CLAIM~ so far, it's just crazy and stressful, though I have to admit, liberating from my long-standing (read: festering) creative projects). Also, I am in severe need of writing practice... my writing is deteriorating because I've been reading nothing but fanfiction... @___@; (some of which is very good, of course, but my undiscerning lust for certain ships makes me ignore quality a bit too recklessly... @__@; )

But yes-- as NaNoWriMo's illuminating site mentions, if you plan to write a novel "one day" that day will likely never come. So isn't it better to do it all at once, not caring about the quality, just writing for the sake of writing, and doing it while millions of other writers the world over are suffering from the same deadline? It's like a holiday! ...Of pain and creative struggle... ^^;

*ahem* Or at least, this was my original thought. But 14 days in and still not sold on the story I chose to write, I'm wondering if I should start over. @___@;; (at this rate, I'll have to write like 3500 words a day to make the 50K goal @__@) It's just, the story ended up being a historical fiction (my recent love for Le Chevalier d'Eon is largely to blame, no doubt), and I know I'm supposed to just write and do the research/correction afterwards-- but I can't bear it! @___@;; Every little detail, down to how French chevaliers are "knighted" to whether inner breast pockets were in fashion then to what popular plays/novels were being written/that people would've made allusions to-- I don't know any of it!! @____@;;;; Why, oh, why did I choose a period I have never even taken a proper history class on?!

What do you think... is this all negligible stuff that I can fill in after the novel is written, or should I just give up and start yet another novel this late in the game? @____@;; Help meeee~~~~

Sorrowfully yours,
Cy  T__T
Link18 comments|Leave a comment

NIGHTWISH in Concert!!! XDDD [Nov. 7th, 2007|10:42 am]
[Tags|, , ]
[Current Location |Nightwish Land]
[Current Mood | elated]
[Current Music |"The Poet and the Pendulum" by Nightwish]

So, last night was the Nightwish concert in the OC... WOW. SO much FUN!!!! *___* An entire evening listening to some of the most awesomely powerful and beautiful songs ever-- REALLY, REALLY LOUD and live-- what more could I ask for? I'm still a little "drunk" on it all and won't be too coherent, probably, but I just want to jot down my notes while I still remember them (Set List under cut, too!). ::warm glow of Finnish metal::

Link25 comments|Leave a comment

A little joke and then some [Oct. 8th, 2007|08:58 am]
[Current Music |"White Streets" from Takarazuka Dream Kingdom]

 To cheer up a gloomy Monday back at the office (though actually, it was quite a beautiful morning weather-wise in So Cal...), here's a little joke:


In other news, spent a great weekend with an old friend who came up from San Diego to visit. We actually met in Japan (he's the only straight guy in the world who likes Takarazuka, apparently ^^ It's good to be an easy-going person-- you don't miss out on lovely things like Zuka, then!), and he moved out here from Massachusetts to be near me =P to work at a very promising-looking start-up. Extremely nice, generous, easy-going, not bad looking, good with computers, likes manga and Zuka; in other words, perfect husband material. Problem is... I'm not attracted to him... @__@;; We spent a whole day alone together at Disneyland/California Adventure, with all their romantic lighting, fireworks, etc, and no excited butterflies. Maybe I'm getting too old for this stuff? More likely, it's the stupid gorgeous anime/video game guys and Takarazuka otokoyaku that have ruined me forever for real men... ;___; Dou shiyou?? ;__;
Link3 comments|Leave a comment

Translations for Tsubasa Chapitre 167 & 168 [Oct. 4th, 2007|12:10 am]
[Tags|, , ]
[Current Music |"Jillian" by Within Temptation]

What's this?! Two updates from me in two days?! Must be the miracle of fangirl love... =P

So I was lovingly re-reading Chapitre 167 of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle again, and so many of the lines were so precious I was sort of thinking about how I'd write them in English anyway... and then the whole thing came out, tsui ni... ^^

Well, so maybe some of you will benefit from this? I know there are other translations floating around, but in case you haven't seen them yet...

Link4 comments|Leave a comment

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle 167 [Oct. 2nd, 2007|08:50 pm]
[Tags|, , , , , , ]
[Current Location |For the Love of Fai Land ^__^]
[Current Music |"Ghost Love Score" by Nightwish]

Oh. My. God. AT LAST!!!!!!

Tears-- there are actually tears streaming down my face. I'm so, SO happy, I'm seriously *crying.* At last! At last~!!!! ::more joyful tears:: 

Don't worry, I'm not actually going to spoil it by saying what I'm talking about but... man, who'd've thought that one freakin' page of manga could move a person so much? That's the power of CLAMP, I tell ya! Maaaaaaan!! ::can't help grinning like an idiot:: 

Well, he-- *they*-- deserve it, really, after all that heartache and pain. ...And now I feel the need to gush in spoilers, so read under the cut if you've already read the chapter/don't mind honkin' huge spoilers.


In other news, I'm really lovin' Saint Seiya. Been watching the original TV series (got all the DVDs on rightstuf.com for $3.99 a DVD-- I kid you not!). I'm also thinking about buying a Hong Kong bootleg of the Hades-Sanctuary series b/c I really want to see the gorgeous animation on the big(ger) screen, in crystal-clear picture and sound. I found it for only $30 on this site, but I'm tight on money right now, so my conscience says, "don't you dare." Still... what a good deal...! ::wriggles::

Ooh, that's right-- Nightwish, one of my favorite symphonic metal bands (from Finland @_@) is coming to tour in the US this fall, and I've already bought my ticket!! ^___^ They *were* playing at the House of Blues in Downtown Disney (so convenient~) but they just changed venues... it's at some random place called the Galaxy Theater now. >.< But it's not too far, so... :( Still, I can't wait to hear all my favorite Nightwish tunes 1) LIVE, and 2) sung by the new singer, Anette Olzon, whose voice I utterly adore~ *__* Still, I wonder how operatic songs like "Ghost Love Score" will sound on her not-so-operatic voice... hmm... Their latest album, Dark Passion Play, came out in the US today, but I'm debating whether to buy that or the StS Hades DVDs... :( What to do...

Oh well, guess I'll tide myself over with my new favorite brand of fanfiction (Resident-Gourmet-Chef-of-Sanctuary!Deathmask x Sexy-and-Bitchy-"Girlfriend"-Who-Eats-Well-These-Days!Aphrodite fanfiction by Strausser ^^) while I deliberate over which to buy...

~Suupi ^__^
Link3 comments|Leave a comment

Happy Birthday, Shaka-sama~! [Sep. 19th, 2007|11:52 pm]
[Current Music |"Amaranth" by Nightwish]

For those who haven't seen me in a while, I've fallen into a bit of a Saint Seiya obsession. ^^; There's just something about those unabashedly melodramatic old series... (and the abundance of gorgeous, long-haired men in shiny armor does help, of course ^_~).

Today (at least for the next 7 minutes) is the birthday of one of my favorite characters, Shaka-sama, the legendary Virgo Gold Saint, who can single-handedly beat up anyone else in the series (lol, okay, I'm exaggerating-- but if he was beating the snot out of Saga, Camus, and Shura when they were tag-teaming him, it's probably safe to assume he can beat most anyone (unless they use divinely-forbidden attacks, of course =P)).

*cough* Anyway, tangents aside, to celebrate my "patron saint" (LoL, I am a Virgo, after all ^_~), I've drawn a little bookmark of a chbified Shaka-sama! Check it out under the cut!


x-posted at [info]saintseiyayaoi 
Link2 comments|Leave a comment

The end of Internet Radio as we know it... [Jul. 11th, 2007|10:53 am]

Don't know if you guys have heard about this, but come July 15th, all those fun, underground little net radio stations are going to have the plug pulled by our dear music industry bigwigs at RIAA.

Get the details here: SaveNetRadio.org

Honestly, those bigwigs just can't get enough... I've written to my Senators, so I hope you will too. I'm certainly not going to give up net radio when I just discovered the wonder that is Pandora Radio (seriously, what a great idea-- breaking down musical components of songs to find which kinds of sounds you like and then playing other songs with those components-- it works PERFECTLY for me, who only likes certain songs from various bands). 

So, yes, just spreading the word in case you haven't heard about it yet...

Cy

LinkLeave a comment

Rose of Versailles the anime--MOVIE?!?! [May. 1st, 2007|10:43 pm]
[Tags|, , ]
[Current Music |"Inori ~ You Raise Me Up" by Lena Park]

Wait, when did this happen?!?

I've heard of/seen the series plenty, but I've never heard of an animated BeruBara movie! And what's REALLY got me wriggling with excitement is this-- Oscar is played by none other than my beloved Kobayashi Sanae!!! <3 <3 <3

Link9 comments|Leave a comment

Random Question Zuka Meme of Death <3 [Apr. 16th, 2007|11:22 pm]
[Current Music |"White Streets" from Takarazuka Dream Kingdom]

Oh dear... when I saw this on [info]falcon_wap's lj, I knew I would have to do it, too... ^^;;; 

Link11 comments|Leave a comment

navigation
[ viewing | most recent entries ]
[ go | earlier ]