In issue 829,Seiko Nakamura's Yuujou Survival! concludes a brief three-chapter serialization,while Satoshi Morie's Gakkou Hotel is a one shot,the latter which I've noticed is a common trend in the Hana to Yume issues that I have...

The only 2 Ritsuko Okazaki albums stocked by Yes Asia are her final two(Love and Life ~private works 1999-2001~ and For Ritz)both which I have,but I nabbed the more elusive Life is Lovely via an eBay Buy It Now listing...

Happy birthday to both Kyousuke Kasuga Amuro Ray Tohru Furuya(who turns 54) and Gan-chan Mitsuo Iwata(who turns 40);and since it's already tomorrow(the 1st of next month)in Japan,happy birthday to Nobuo Tanaka(who turns 72),Katsunosuke Hori(who turns 66),and Junpei Morita(who turns 53)...

By dumb luck at the used music store,I actually found a used copy of L'Arc-en-Ciel's Smile.Not as hard-edged as Dir en grey,but it wasn't a bad album either...

At least no one has friends over tonight,because I work in the morning.There's been too much drama around the house in 2007,please make this stop...

Happy 40th birthday to Mitsuru Tsuwabaki Relena Darlian Sayuri Shin-chan Manami Kohaku Akiko Yajima...

If only I knew for sure whether any of their mens' perfumes were made in Japan,I may actually order from Yes Style...

Happy 43rd birthday to George DeSand Ferio Takumi Yamazaki...

Though there seemed to be less vendors this time around,I still didn't quite leave empty-handed:

• A sealed set of 2 slime keychains from the Dragon Quest series...
  
• From the Super Mario series:a plush mega mushroom and a smaller plush 1-up mushroom
  
• 2 small plastic Haro toys
  
• a Kirara cosplay cap
  
• a bottle each of imported Japanese ichigo and ramune soda
  
• A number of pencil boards:8 from One Piece(including 3 small ones of Nami,Usopp-sama,and Sanji),3 from Card Captor Sakura,and one each from Shoujo Kakumei Utena and Sakura Taisen
  
• two decks of picture playing cards(one each from One Piece and Shin Seiki Evangelion)
  
• 10 One Piece character keychains
  
• 3 One Piece UFO catcher dolls(one Luffy,one Nami,and one Chopper),and lastly...
  
• From Futari wa Pretty Cure Splash Star:a UFO catcher doll each of Saki Hyuuga/Cure Bloom and Mai Mishou/Cure Egret(the 2 co-heroines),plus huge plushes of Frappi-sama and Choppi
  

Speaking of Splash Star,I finally managed to fully download episode 1(my first ever fansub download,courtesy of Mystery Fan Translation Group X),and it wasn't easy:Aside from the erratic Internet connection the previous few days(it works again today),the torrent speeds can be incosistent and/or slow at times;not to mention having to download the right codec for Windows Media Player.I've started the torrent download for episode 2 and it's being painfully slow at the moment(on track to take 19 days if I kept this on non-stop,though it's unlikely to take that long even with the comp on and off intermittently)...


Speaking of episode 1,it's amazing that when Saki and Mai first met,they didn't think of it then because they were just kids.Also amazing is how Kappei-sama managed to make himself sound "girly" voicing one of the two main fairies(Frappi-sama).At least the fansubbing group has only gotten as far as episode 8(still several episodes away from the unfortunate introduction of the first of 2 characters who I won't identify).Since this is an alternate universe,being familiar with the original series isn't quite necessary...

Yesterday,doing my part in the liquidation of a local music retailing icon,I dropped by the bookstore of its flagship location after work and nabbed a roadmap of Houston.I purchased it mainly to have a hard-to-find map of a large U.S. city,and it didn't occur to me until I was already back home that I now had a map of the home city of perhaps the biggest anime and manga distribution juggernaut in the Americas.I checked a few back issues of Newtype USA;and it turns out that both of ADV's 2 main facilities are both located off of the same freeway and with a mile or two of each other...

The previous day,I nabbed a copy of Splurge at the record store,though I've yet to listen to it...

Since it's already tomorrow(the 4th)in Japan,happy 42nd birthday to Mihoshi Black Joker Chocolate Misu Yuuko Mizutani...

Well,as Ranma ½ got me started in anime,Hirotaka Suzuoki(who voiced Tatewaki Kunou)was among the first seiyuu I ever became familiar with.He was already 39 when the anime began airing in Japan.When most of his castmates(including Kappei-sama)were only either children or teenagers),he was already voicing major anime characters(i.e.,Bright Noa)...

Onto the subject of living seiyuu,happy 45th birthday to Maria Tachibana Shaoli Urara Takano;and since it's already tomorrow(the 17th)in Japan,happy 47th birthday to Nuriko Yaten Kou Perle Kentarou Ichinose Chika Sakamoto...

On an non-anime note,since a new 49ers LJ community has been created to replace a deleted one,I'd better be sure to join 49erfaithful...

Hopefully,the late Patsy Ramsey can truly rest in peace once and for all...

At an ongoing charity book sale,for a mere quarter,I found a 1984 tourist guide to the Bavarian town of Rothenburg ob der Tauber.Now,what does this have to do with Japan or anime,you may ask?Quite a bit:The fictional town of Mühlenberg in Chicchana Yukitsukai Sugar was patterned after this one time imperial free city...

My take on the ongoing immigrant controversy:As recently as 2 decades ago,no one cared.Now,it seems that our "elected" Congress has been infiltrated by neo-conservative homophobes.I'm more than certain that the Mexican government has not supported terrorism and doesn't currently do so either;and I don't blame them for wanting to reform their drug laws.Not only are two of my bosses Hispanic(yes,one is an immigrant),but also the particular location where I work draws a sizable Hispanic customer base.I've even patronized Hispanic food shops(mainly to get my Mexican Coke fix).In my eyes,most immigrants(regardless of country of origin)are not terrorists.Now,some fundimentalist(extreme)conservatives want to criminalize immigration to the States(yet they approved funding for our second border-to-border interstate).Just one of many reasons that I've never liked the Republican Party...

Back to Japan-related matters,happy 39th birthday to Relena Darlian/Peacecraft Mitsuru Tsuwabaki Shin-chan Kohaku Akiko Yajima;and since it's already tomorrow(the 5th)in Japan,happy to both Ascot Dilandau Nabiki Tendou Conan Edogawa Kiki Minami Takayama a.k.a. Mrs.Goshou Aoyama(who turns 42) and Takehito Koyasu(who turns 39 and is in just about every other anime which is too many to mention in a single post)...

Even though I missed it,this year's edition of ANN's annual April Fool's fiesta was thankfully greatly watered down.Actually,LJ was the only site I even bothered to check on Saturday...

Well,my new supply of Japanese Kit-Kats arrived today,as at least part of my order was out of stock at the time I placed it.My order was wrapped in loose pages of Animedia magazine which isn't yet published in non-Japanese versions...

Well,though my research has been for the most part unintentional,it would be interesting to see who would be next in line of succession to the Japanese throne after emperor Akihito's sons...

Since it's already tomorrow(the 4th)in Japan,happy 45th birthday to Dorothy Catalonia Azusa Shiratori Reiko Katsumi Liqueur Naoko Matsui...

Not only have my tax refunds been received;but I've also stumbled into wikipedians,though the articles I've edited aren't strictly Japan-related...

Speaking of Wikipedia,I had never even heard of the term "shotgun wedding" until reading an article on an Onmyoji cast member...

Well,after its initial out-of-order region 1 DVD release that involved skipping whole sets of episodes,Funimation has begun re-releasing Case Closed right from the beginning.Yesterday,I grabbed the first such 2-disc(9-episode)set at Best Buy.It would be interesting to see if Shinichi Kudou and/or the Phantom Thief appear in every episode...

Speaking of new anime DVD releases,Gundam Wing will be re-released in 2 thinpak DVD collections over the next 6 weeks.Once they get released,I can reclaim even more shelf space.It would be good if Gate Keepers gets such treatment...

Looks like the the company that grew out of the still-published Sacramento Bee is going national by buying out over two dozen Knight-Ridder newspapers.One happens to be The Bellingham Herald,but for the most part,I don't really believe in omens(good or bad)...

Just days after the long-overdue October issue arrived,my November issue of Newtype USA arrived on time.Makes you wonder about the erratic efficiency of USPS...

Well,my alarm clock always seems to advance a few minutes every time the power goes out.By last weekend,it was ahead by half an hour.It got to the point that not only did I not bother with the fall-back fix,but I've new left it unplugged for extended periods of time.Turns out it also advances ridiculously even then.I may not plug it back anytime soon except in certain emergencies...

Since it's already tomorrow(the 4th)in Japan,happy 41st birthday to Mihoshi Chocolate Misu Black Joker Luchs Fouly Yuuko Mizutani...