joy and shadows

And how. It has been pouring here for most of the day. The weather all around has been downright weird.

Anyway.

This was the first Christmas ever where I woke up in my own domicile rather than at my parents' or at husband's. We went down to husband's parents' on Saturday and stayed the night to exchange gifts on the morning of Christmas Eve, but we were back here by about 5:30 to tidy up and get some things ready for my parents' impending visit today.

We were out of bed by 8:15 for the opening of presents. Husband always spoils me, and I got a lot of nice things this year. He bought me the sterling silver dragonfly necklace I wanted, and a couple of video games (omg am very intimidated by FFXII), candy, a hat/mitten set, new cozy pants, the Weird NJ Vol. 2 book, and a hookup for my iPod that goes into our stereo. He also surprised me with an adorable star necklace with teeny diamonds, and I love it muchly, especially since the Tiffany star necklace I was drooling over is $6,600 and it is not likely to be under the tree unless we hit the lottery. His big surprise was a Stars and Stripes sailing watch that I bought for him on the cruise. Does everything but sail the boat. He also got the humongous Ferrari Lego set he's been lusting after for months, and that will keep him busy for about two days.

My parents came for dinner, and we had a good time, despite a crisis where the oven was accidentally turned off for the first hour of the pot roast, and then later I decorated myself and the white tablecloth with a very nice Chateauneuf-de-Pape. Thankfully, red wine does come out if you manage to wash the item fast enough, although my "dry clean only" sweater is probably done for. The parents brought some lovely presents for us both, including a set of silver Tiffany cuff links for husband and a necklace-and-earrings set for me. They also gave me the ginormous suitcase I'd asked for, and if it doesn't fit in this baby for Ohayocon, I don't need it. I think I could put myself in it. (also would come in handy if that 1Q audit in the UK comes to pass! European vacation on the company dime! well, not really.)

Right now, I'm trying to decide whether I'm getting sick or whether it's allergies, and husband is playing the new Star Wars Lego game that I got frustrated with. Like all the games we play together, he'll take it over, and then I won't play it again. Eh, anything to keep the menfolk occupied.

Hope you all had a merry Christmas with lots of good stuff under the tree.

Our Boys Need More Sox!

...I'll bet they do.

All weekends should be four-day weekends. Way, way too short. Though this week will be a short week too, because we're going to Florida on Friday to visit the parentals.

( and then what happened? )

BEWARE WHAT YOU SAY ON TEH INTERNETS...

Because your flamewar opponent may show up at your house with a machete.

Man jailed for 'Web-rage' attack

This is a scene from the madness that took place last night after #15 Rutgers beat #3 Louisville.

I've been at some intense games in my life, but this... may top them all.

( RU rah rah... )

Summary of today's meeting:

*NUCLEAR EXPLODINATION*

Someday, I will have a new job.

We've had a cute little Halloween here. Husband had candy for me when I came home (and I brought him some too.) He bought me a big pumpkin, and I carved it into the jolly fellow you see in the photo. We roasted some seeds, and now it's time for House.

No good scary movies on tonight, though. :P

Rabid anime fans, it's time to sit down and have a couple beers, and maybe relax a bit.

There have been three Bleach-related rants recently on the "Rant of the Week" section at Anime News Network. One of them was pro-dub. One of them was anti-dub. This week, there's some complaining about translating or not-translating honorifics, specific words to the anime, etc.

jaina and I were remarking that some terms in Bleach get English translations but not others (i.e. "zanpakuto" and "konpaku" are used as is, but "reiatsu" turns into "spirit force" and "shinigami" into "soul reaper.") The author of the rant is complaining that if all the Japanese terms aren't translated into English, then the meaning of the terms might be lost. And yet, I can bet you that next week, there's going to be another rant about how the dub isn't OMG PURE if you don't use the Japanese words, because the English translations are an approximation of the Japanese terms, anyway.

Well, guys, anyone who's done any translation at all understands that there's always a good bit of guesswork involved, and a balance between preserving the original meaning and getting the meaning across in the context of the new language. Let's take the ranter's complaint about "taicho" and "fukutaicho."

I don't know whether "taicho" is a rank in the Japanese military (the closest I found was Tai-sho, "general") or whether it's a political honorific. Taking the literal translation given in the rant of "division commander," then the proper rank translation is "major general," because major generals command divisions. The next rank below major general (properly) is brigadier general, and then colonel. So, should we start calling Byakuya-taicho Major General Byakuya instead? Colonel Abarai?

Let's consider the army definition of "division" - approximately fifteen thousand soldiers. That's a lot of people. So, should we translate ranks based on how many shinigami each captain commands? Is Byakuya's command more like an army captain's, so the meaning of his title is correct, and then Renji would be First Lieutenant Abarai? (Actually, I like First Lieutenant better than Vice-Captain.) But, captains only command 100 - 130 people.

And this is all just two words.

So. Which would you rather have, correct words or correct meaning? What is "correct," anyway? My feeling is that if you don't speak the language, you're not getting the full meaning anyway, and most decent translators are doing their best to take a nuanced language and make it understandable. But, the Japanese words do give the anime a little "flavor," since, after all, Our Heroes are speaking Japanese (as opposed to Trigun, where they're supposed to be speaking English.) So, everyone settle down, and enjoy the show.

Especially Urahara's English pothead voice. That makes me giggle all the time.

Hello thar congoing friends!

jaina and I are in search of some Good Friends to come and join us for the splendiferous experience that is Ohayocon (held in Columbus, Ohayo, of course) from Jan. 4th through 7th. This con is such a good time that we want to welcome you with open arms and it really helps to have a couple more people to share the hotel fee with.

Highlights include:

Steak'n'Shake adventures with Bible-quoting weirdoes at nearby tables

Mongolian BBQ

Drinks in the hotel bar with cosplayers streaming by (and the occasional guest-of-honor)

Writing porn for the enjoyment of passersby at about 2 AM

Post-holiday shopping in Easton

Friendly hotel staff and local merchants

Entertaining conflicts between Christian youth ministries and yaoi artists

This completely awesome hotel, where we have reserved a suite. Snackies and booze and breakfast and everything!

To qualify for this fabulous trip, you have to agree to the following:

1. Otaku of the female persuasion only. No offense to our XY friends, but it does make things more comfortable.
2. No smoking in the room. We just don't want to sleep in it.

Flights seem to be reasonably cheap to Columbus (er, at least from Newark) so think it over! Cosplaying is encouraged and welcomed! Hope to see more of you there, because at a con, the more the merrier.

Last night at 9 PM, the USA Network aired the Zombie Outbreak Training Film "Dawn of the Dead," which depicts a Class 3 outbreak that proceeded to Class 4. As those of you who have watched this training film may know, the outcome for these noninfected souls was not as fortunate as it could have been. Let's review what they did wrong.

1. Stayed within the city.

Urban areas are the worst protected from zombie outbreaks! Always try to find a sparsely populated, defensible area in which to make a stand.

2. Took shelter in a mall.

Malls are almost indefensible. An undead horde can easily push its way into a mall if alerted to the presence of fresh meat inside.

3. Investigated strange sounds.

When in doubt, RUN!

4. Inadequate armor.

Despite their visit to an ammunitions shop, none of the protagonists helped themselves to available body armor. Although an encumbrance, armor is invaluable as regards bite protection. Several of their number were lost to bites.

5. Attempted escape in a car/truck.

This one could be argued, since the type of zombie depicted in the training film was a Fast Zombie, capable of running. More typical Slow Zombies can easily be outpaced on a bicycle. However, the drawbacks to escape in a wheeled vehicle were accurately depicted, specifically that even a strong vehicle can be overpowered by an enormous crowd of hungry undead.

6. Escape on a boat.

The boat was a sailboat, so lack of fuel could be ameliorated, but our heroes ran out of water, and the food spoiled when the generator quit. Escape on a boat is only feasible when one of the party is an experienced sailor with knowledge of the surrounding water and ports. Get in, get what you need, and get out!

With Halloween approaching, it is more important than ever to be PREPARED for a zombie outbreak! For starters, I recommend a copy of the Zombie Survival Guide, a well-written and thorough introduction to survival during zombie outbreaks.

GET IT

LEARN IT

USE IT

or you're dinner.