A River Runs Through It

I personally have no experiences with rivers as such, so I am not the most qualified to write on where they come from or where they go. I am a boatman of a different sort, however, as I am constantly flowing down the rivers of humanity called our roads.

The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say.
-- J.R.R. Tolkien

At night, when you are looking out over a road it looks exactly like a river of light. White headlights heading one direction like the Mississippi, red tail lights heading like a counter-current.

I don't often like humanity, but that is an impressive sight to see.

Be well, all!

An Experiment in Longevity: Weekly Thought!

So cool a blog

I thought y'oud enjoy it.
I am back into the realm of AMVs!
Boyer-san, Sarah-chan, get back into the realm! Some awesome ones have come out since we left.
Go to http://www.animemusicvideos.org/home/home.php for great AMVs.
Got to run!

Isildur's Bane

The direct quote for this week's topic is:
"Bleckh, must have more RAM!"
I can agree with this sentiment, at least partially. In theory (and practice) if you have enough RAM, you can run programs (such as high end video games) that for some other reason (eg processor speed) normally wouldn't run on your PC. RAM is a good thing, and truly one can never have enough of it. But that is not my bane...

My bane is, and always will be, Hard Drive Space!

My PC, for example, has 120 GB combined (a 40 and an 80) and I am at the point of seriously considering buying an external hard drive!

Where did all the space go? Good question.

Let us see,
1) ANIME! I have the entirety of Hikaru no Go (75 regular episodes and three specials), over 130 eps of Naruto (as well as the first movie and the specials), lots of the Bleach episodes, Monster episodes, a few Trinity Blood episodes, and Basilisk episodes. Not to mention one random movie (Beyond the Clouds) which I do recommend.
2) MUSIC! Just about every CD I own or my parents own has been burned unto my pc. Even in MP3 format, that is still a lot of information!
3) AMVs! For those who don't know, Anime Music Videos. I am absolutely addicted to them, especially when I already know the anime. Haven't been getting them lately, though...
4) VIDEO GAMES! I have section of my hard drive partitioned, and it was originally devoted to nothing but these! Now, I have deleted some of the ones I don't play to make more room for Anime...
5) DOCUMENTS! Last on the list is documents. They may not take up that much space, but I have several big ones, and a lot of them in general.

I have enough RAM to do what I want, but hard drive space is my bane at this point.

An Experiment in Longevity: Brand new Topic

Quicky

Don't have much time.
Just want to say that:
1) Yes, I survived Black Tuesday.
2) Cal State is needlessly secretive about stuff.
3) G-mail ROCKS (get an account if you can...)
4) Death is only the beginning...
Be well, all.

Happy Black Tuesday, Everyone!

Well, I bet you're wondering: Why is this Tuesday black?

"I can't tell you, ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"
"Well, can you at least give me a hint?"
"You want a hint?"
"Yes, please."
"How long... can you tread water, ha ha ha ha ha ha." - Bill Cosby

Seriously, it is Valentine's Day (or for us R. C., Saint Valenine's Feast Day) and it wouldn't mater if it landed on a Sunday, for me it becomes Black *insert day*. I have never liked this quasi-holiday, as it always seemed like a day devoted to everyone with a girlfriend/lover/fiance/spouse/what-have-you to flaunt that fact before everyone who doesn't, e.g. me. A person can only take so much of that before the holiday associated with it becomes evil in their eyes. To all of you who have any of the above and plan on doing something fun/romantic/whatever today, fine good on you. The rest of us will be in the bars/where-ever-they-serve-cheap-drinks trying to ignore your very existence. Don't mind us, but don't bother us either!
Be well.

The Promised Song

Well, folks, I have never been one to back out of a promise. I promised that I would post a "happier" song, so I shall now make good on that promise. It is in a different language (Japanese) so I will post both the "romanji" japanese version (for those of you who don't know, it is the phonetical spelling in Roman characters of the Japanese language, though there is no "official" romanji guide; the best/most accurate way of showing Japanese is Kanji, though I can't do that on this PC yet) and then an English translation (note, subject to enterpretation, as not an "official" translation, and some people translate some things differently...). Also note that while I personally find this song to be "happy" I make no promises that others will find it to be so...
Now, with all of these caviots and conditions out of the way, I will present my song.
Be well, all!

Artist: High and Mighty Color
Song: Ichirin no Hana (My One Flower)

Kimi wa kimi da tashika
Inai yo kawari nante hoka ni inain da
Iarenaide ichirin no hana

Hikari ga matomo ni sashikomanai kimi wa marude hikage ni saita hana no you
Dojikaketa kimochi... Dakidaseba ii

Kimi wa kimi da tashika
Inai yo ima made mo kore kara saki ni mo
Tatoe kimi igai no subete no hito o teki ni mawasu toki ga kite mo
Kimi no koto mamorinuku kara
De ichirin no hana

TIME... NOTICE THAT...
YOU SHOULDN'T NOTICE THAT...
NOTICE THAT... THERE'S NO OTHER
--------------
You are you, for sure.
There's no substitute anywhere, there is none.
Please don't wilt, my one flower.

You, upon who the light hardly shines, are just like a flower blooming in the shade.
Those feelings you're about to lock away... You oughtta spit them out!

You are you, for sure.
There's been none like you before and never will there be.
Even if a time comes where you make enemies of everyone other than yourself,
I will protect you through it all.
So please don't give up, my one flower.

TIME... NOTICE THAT...
YOU SHOULDN'T NOTICE THAT...
NOTICE THAT... THERE'S NO OTHER

(Thank you Lunar Fansubs for the translation, and for continuing to do Bleach.)
(Thank you, Japan, for producing such wonderful anime like Bleach for our viewing enjoyment.)

The curtain has fallen

The Final Curtain Call, eh Drathari? I've seen one of them's once...
*SMACK* "Quit channeling Strong Bad!"
"Yes, mom..."

In all seriousness, I think that everyone experiences two types of Final Curtain Calls in their life. The first is at the end of any given phase of our lives. When we transition from one school to the next, from school to work, from one type of job to another, and so on. We always look for some type of recognition for what we have done for the last *insert amount and unit of time*, before we move on to doing something else. That, in my opinion, is why we like to have ceremonies or rituals marking these transitions.
When we leave college we (hopefully) go through a final curtain call that is graduation. We give the graduates a chance to take one last bow, in addition to commending them for their efforts, before we send them off to where ever it is they are going next. We have retirement parties for people who have served with us for a period of time before they leave.
The other type of final curtain call I think we all go through, being a believer in an afterlife, is after we die. I know, not a pleasent topic, but one that concerns everyone. Let's face it, no one has lived forever yet, and I am not about to bet money that someone alive now is going to do so.
Regardless, I believe that when we die we go through a curtain call of sorts. We see everything we did (both good and bad) and we have to take credit for both. It is after this that we move on to the unknown fate that awaits all who die. I have an idea of what happens to people beyond that point, but it is just that: an idea. Having not passed through that curtain yet I really don't know for certain what is on the other side.
Well, I hope that fish-boy finds this a bit more in keeping with his/her values and ideals, but quite frankly I don't ultimately care.
"Here, fishy, fishy, fishy..."

An Experiment in Longevity: Topic 4 -yes its late

A Day Which Will Forever Live In Infamy

Well, not quite that bad, but certainly bad enough for me to think so.
Just about everything I have tried to do, worked with, or thought about working with has blown up in my face.
I will spare you, gentle reader, the grisly details, but know this:
I want to know why we have days where we might very well have been better off sleeping through, despite whatever commitments we normally have. Any and all thoughts about this will be welcome.
"So this is hell. I'd never have believed it. You remember all we were told about the torture-chambers, the fire and brimstone, the 'burning marl.' Old wives' tales! There's no need for red-hot pokers. HELL IS--OTHER PEOPLE!" - Jean-Paul Sartre
Be well, and I hope your day is better than mine!

So dark...perfect!

"Clouseau, are you alright? Are you injured?"
"No, fortunately the darkness saved me."
"So what you are saying, then, is we need more light." - Revenge of the Pink Panther

Well, I still am riding with a maniac who's true identity I know not, but that should not surprise those who know me overly much. Turning of the Screw, huh. This requires a certain dementia that can only be defined as chaos driven... give me a moment.

*speaking softly in a dark voice* "I summon the forces of chaos, randomness and sarcasm. Fill thy humble servant with the power necessary to complete this task."

*a dark aura glows around the PC* "Excellent..."

Now that that is done, on to the topic...

Why does the screw turn? Is it because of the laws of nature, or is it because of the divine? Where is this screw? Is it in my head, or is it symptomatic of the culture of metal and gears that has overtaken my once green and natural homeland? Where have the rangers gone? Why do we live lives bound to our own creations?

Inventions which were once luxuries are now necessities. Twenty years ago I didn't have high speed internet access, it was a luxury. I lived without it just fine. Now, take away my internet connection and you have robbed me of half of my friends! One hundred years ago we didn't have cars, yet we still got from place to place. How many people can do that in this day and age? How many people rely on horses or trains or, heaven forbid, THEIR OWN TWO FEET to get them places within their own towns and cities? Cars, computors, cell phones, the internet, all tools meant to make our lives easier, instead enslave us to them. I am no exception. I drive everywhere. That doesn't mean I can't take notice of my enslavement.

And still the screw of human ingenuity turns toward our doom. We create ever more inventive ways to enslave ourselves. God help us, we certainly can't help ourselves...

An Experiment in Longevity: Three.. three topics.. Hahhaha. *thunder boom*

Random imaginings

A band of 20 soldiers march past my shop. Their metal armor glistens in the sun, only being obscured by their green and tan cloaks, marking them as soldiers from Arathiea. From their direction, they must be marching to the Eastern war. Most of them are barely older than my sons, yet all of them march like they were born wearing their armor. Their commanding officer is young and princely, but already the strains of command are showing in his face.
"Mirin, get me two casks of water and the tray of fresh bread we have," I call out to my eldest daughter. While she goes about doing as I asked, I run out to the commander. "Good sir," I exclaim, "do you have time to take on what fresh provisions we can provide? We can only give you freshly baked bread and well water, but it is the least we can do."
The commander nods, and orders his men to halt. We give them what we can and then see them off.
"Why did you help them, da?" Mirin asks. Since my wife died, she has been the one looking after my younger children.
"They remind me of my old friends. We were young when war broke out, yet they still went off to fight for all of our freedom. Such sacrifice should be met with kindness and respect." I close the doors of my bakery and begin to prepare for dinner, pushing the memories of my fallen friends out of my mind for the time being.