09/11/01
I'm sure you people are all aware of what happened this morning. Well, actually, I wasn't aware of it until most of the exciting stuff had long since past. I was wandering through the lobby in the student union headed towards breakfast when I noticed some of the custodians watching some breaking news on the TV. All I caught as I walked past was "New York" and "World Trade Center". I just figured the poor building was the victim of yet another bomb.
Well, it took me until my 10:00 (Central time) class to get a bit more of the story. A boy in front of me was going on about how someone crashed a couple of planes into the WTC and completely demolished it. I thought he was exaggerating, and thought that "plane" meant one of those little single-engine private doo-hickeys that someone tried to ram the White House with a while back.
When the bell rang and the professor came in, his demeanor suggested that there was more to this. He recounted all the news to us, and informed us that someone had hijacked a pair of passenger jetliners and crashed them into the WTC. Then, I thought, "Oh, they stole them from the airport." No, they hijacked them. At that point, my professor started crying. You know, you just kinda feel like the planes hit your school when you see people react like that. And after I thought about what I had just been told, I got mad. Now, I never get mad. Slightly irritated at someone's lack of insight, maybe. But never mad. But, for God's sake, you do not use a plane full of people to kill more people. That is just SICK. There's a lesson in this: If you want to make a statement, using violence just gets people ticked off at you, and they'll be even LESS inclined to listen to you.
::takes a breath:: Okay, I'm done. For site-related things, I finally found out how to transfer stuff onto my school's server using their new network interface (the new network is still slow as heck, though). However, even though it's slower, it's a lot BIGGER. So, I've got the space to showcase the newest video file. People have been asking about it, and it's finally here! My Dilandau music video is currently the download-of-the-moment. It's compressed into RealVideo like all the others, but that's because I couldn't get the DivX version to play right over the web. Be happy!
And does anyone else find it weird that a big disaster happened on 9-11?
And who else is wondering why the heck I have bells if I'm in college? We just DO, okay?! :P

08/27/01
I'm ba-ack! School has resumed, so I'm back on the fast, reliable connection. So, what's up? Well, a lot, frankly. This is gonna be one heck of a ramble. First off, how was Otakon? I went to my very first anime convention in Baltimore this month! I must say, it was one heck of a trip. "Mystery Anime Theater" is quite possibly the coolest thing ever. If you went to Otakon this year, I'd like to hear your opinions about it. Most of my group was in costume (I was not). We had a wide assortment of characters, such as Haruka from Sailor Moon, Yukito ("Julian") from Card Captor Sakura, Android 17 from DBZ, Wolfwood (female ^_^*) from Trigun, and Emishi from Rurouni Kenshin.
Next off, how about those videos? I want to thank everyone who submitted their opinions on the background music switch-a-roo I pulled the last update. The voter turnout was so-so, but it was enough to see a clear winner. The results were as follows:
Requiem Mass: 61%
Peer Gynt Suite: 23%
Mars: 16%
So, now what? Well, I've put up the dreaded "fourth option" as a stinger to this poll! Feast your eyes and ears on the last of the products of my meddlings! And I dare you not to laugh.
More news! I know a lot of us are bummed about how poorly Escaflowne was handled on television. We just wish that this kind of series could be treated with respect on American TV. Well, that day may be at hand. Starting September 2nd at midnight, another show from the creators of Escaflowne will get its chance in the spotlight. That's right, I'm talking about Cowboy Bebop. It will air in Cartoon Network's new Adult Swim lineup. And, rather than editing the show to pieces to appease conservative parents, the show is getting a TV-14 rating, and will supposedly be left more or less alone. If you're allowed to watch it, I suggest you check this one out.
Now on to sadder business. It has been brought to my attention that Disney doesn't think that animated movies sell all that well in America. As a result, they have decided to stop releasing Miyazaki's movies. That means no more masterpieces like Princess Mononoke, Laputa: Castle in the Sky, My Neighbor Totoro, Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind, among many others. A petition has been started, telling Disney that we still want to see these movies in America, theatrically released or not. Hopefully, you'll support this.
Phew! I think I've said everything. Being gone for a month sure piles up the news.

07/10/01
Yeah, you knew I couldn't go too long without making a video update. But this one's special. This video update doubles as a poll as well. In the videos section, you'll find not one, but three sort of new files. Yup, it's the end of episode 14 again. Sort of. I've altered the audio in all three versions, and it's your opportunity to tell me which one sounds best (and don't tell me "The original", because I KNOW the original sounds the best. That isn't what this is about). More is explained on the Videos page. It's because I had nothing better to do with my evening, 'kay? And I was in one of those, "Hey, I wonder..." moods. So, go for it.

07/08/01
Hey, I added some stuff other than a video file! I finally got to see the Escaflowne movie! Woo hoo! Although the character designs were weird, it had absolutely wonderful animation and music. It was a good movie all around, as long as you don't expect it to have anything to do with the series (anime movies tend to be like that). So, I added a little Commentary on the movie, along with twelve images of the movie incarnations of the main cast. Hope you find it informative.