Mightier than the sword...

mood: happy

music: 'Hologram' - NICO Touches the Walls

Recently, I tried to explain to a housemate why I liked the anime Fullmetal Alchemist so much. After unsuccessfully trying to convince her and resorting to the 'it's good, just trust me' approach, I was eventually able to form an argument that made some sense:

"Fullmetal Alchemist has the ability to make you both laugh and cry, even during the same episode."

I don't tend to watch mainstream anime - my taste are inclined towards the more obscure shows - but there was always something about FMA that drew me in and kept me engaged, more so than a lot of the American drama I watch. And for me, the main reason for that is the character driven plot, and that it never takes itself too seriously. Right from the start the show is telling a story, one with as many twists and turns as a good novel, and it continues to pull the viewer along (willingly or not), even through the more comedic episodes, with various instances of plot development (like Armstrong slipping that letter into Havoc's jacket in 'The Flame Alchemist & The Mystery of Warehouse 13'). Despite only having access to the first 7 volumes of the manga, the studio managed to create a story that really worked.

Besides, I'm just a sucker for character development! =D

So when I heard that the studio was producing a new anime more closely based on the original manga (it's been 6 years since FMA first aired), I was in two minds about the whole thing. This was supposed to be a separate series, not just a sequel, so I knew the anime would have to go back over familiar ground by retelling several key stories. Considering how much groundwork there is in the first half alone, the studio would have to somehow keep the older fans interested, and yet outline these key points in the story for the newer fans as well as introducing any new plot twists from the manga. I could only see one way to do this: cram it all into as few episodes as possible. I couldn't see it working well, and I was right.

The first 14 episodes of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood are basically the result of 33 episodes of FMA crammed together. The pacing is rushed, the drawing style is too cartoony (if that makes sense) and the whole thing has a much more comedic style with random jokes thrown in everywhere. This ruins the feel of the show, somewhat reducing the effect of the more poignant moments (such as Ed and Al's fight about the 'artificial soul').

But don't give up just yet - it gets better!

From episode 15 onwards, the show slows down to a much better pace, and loses some of the unnecessary over-the-top use of comedy, although it will crop up in places. The story of the Elric brothers heads down a completely different route as new characters are introduced, and some of the regulars get more of a starring role this time around! Breda, Fuery, Falman, Havoc and Hawkeye all get upgrades from simple subordinates with some great character development, and Winry's role is looking to be grander than before.

Even the opening and closing themes are, in my opinion, better than the first anime (or Japanese music is just getting better on a whole! XD). However, none of the incidental music during the episodes quite surpasses the original series' 'Bratja'.

I recommend Brotherhood to all FMA fans. You will have to push through the first few episodes, and I don't suggest skipping as there are a few new concepts mentioned that will be of importance later on, but so far the new story has more than made up for this inconvenience. Episode 26 (the series midpoint) ended on one hell of a cliff-hanger, and even though I have to wait a while before decent subbed-versions of the next few episodes are available, Brotherhood is shaping up to be something that I'm more than happy to wait for.

mood: content

music: 'Mr Blue Sky' - Electric Light Orchestra

There are differing views out there on the quality of Stephenie Meyer's 'Twilight' series. There are those that adore the books, agreeing with amazon.com that the original book was "deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful", and there are those who would rather burn the novels, along with Hillias J. Martin of the 'School Library Journal' for stating that 'Twilight' was "Realistic, subtle, [and] succinct". Now, the opinion of bad writing aside, I propose to you, reader of this article, that 'Twilight' isn't as bad as you all think. I would even go as far to say that it is, in fact, a force for Good.

Now, before you all start reaching for your pitchforks or shotguns - or even start congratulating me for defecting to the Edward camp - first, just hear me out.

Readers of 'Twilight' fall into one of several categories. There are the teenage girls whom the books were originally aimed towards, there are the strange middle-aged housewives looking for a bit of teen sauciness in their lives, and there are those who just picked up the book because they heard it was good and wanted to give it a shot (that covers pretty much everyone else).

No matter why you picked it up in the first place, once you've read the book you'll either love it ("OMG, IT'S THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD! I WISH I WAS BELLA!!!!111!!"), hate it ("That's the worst piece of writing I have ever encountered in my life! I wanted to CLAW MY EYES OUT!") or you really don't care ("It was kinda meh... Alright to kill a bit of time, but I wouldn't read it again.").

Now, there isn't a problem with loving a book against all common sense - we are each entitled to our own opinion. There is a line, however, and that line is crossed when you attack other non-fans purely because they happened to say that they didn't find it realistic or that it had strong Mormon undertones, or even dumping your boyfriend of however many years because he "wasn't Edward". I'm sorry, but that is pretty ridiculous. And so we begin to wonder what kind of world we live in now.

A friend of mine once commented that when forced to sell a copy of 'Twilight' she felt "so dirty" because she had to "pretend that I'm happy that it's going to infect someone else" and that the series "is going to end the human race". At first glance at the fanbase, one may be inclined to agree, but I'm not so convinced. I, personally, see the book as a form of advanced Darwinism, and my argument is thus:

The 'Twilight' fanbase is predominantly female, and of which 10% of those are probably middle aged women, most of whom have already had kids. The remainder consists of teenage girls. Now, they either liked it as a book, put it on the bookshelf and didn't think about it again, or they are crazy twi-fans (affectionally known by the rest of the book reading world as 'twitards') who wish they were Bella to such an extent that they take their fashion tips from the books, have plastered their rooms with Edward Cullen posters, and are currently looking for their 'Edward'. And there are some poor lads out there right now wondering who the hell Edward is, and why they didn't compare and were subsequently dumped for it.

Now, I don't claim to be an expert on the male psyche, but I'm pretty sure that any self respecting teenage boy isn't going to care about this. He's not going to change the way he dresses/speaks/acts just to please some girl so he can get into her pants. If anything, he'd think, "this is too much like hard work; I'll try the cute looking girl over there not clutching a book".

And so we come down to the really good thing about this book! Girl reads 'Twilight'. Girl changes lifestyle and morphs into Bella!Girl. Bella!Girl searches for Edward!Boy. Boy cannot be bothered to change lifestyle to that of Edward!Boy for Bella!Girl and goes after normal!Girl. Bella!Girl does not find Edward!Boy. Bella!Girl does not get laid and does not reproduce. Twitard!Genes are not passed on. Bella!Girl dies a spinster wishing she had stuck with Harry Potter, because despite being based in an imaginary world where magic exists, it was still more realistic than 'Twilight'.

So fear not! The human race will not be destroyed; the world will actually be a better place! Meyer is actually doing us all a favour by weeding out the stupid and unpractical of human beings, whilst leaving behind those slightly insane people who have read the books and liked them, but aren't hung up on the romantic notion of expecting all men to be Edward's. 'Twilight' isn't just an example of bad writing and poor story telling; it is also a genius plot to advance the human race!

It's amazing what you can realise in a moment of pure ice-cream and video game induced clarity.

mood: ecstatic

music: 'The Daleks and Davros' - Murray Gold

And I have now finished!

No more University work for me. I just have to hang around until July now, when I officially graduate and have to wear the funny robes and cap. Oh, my parents are going to have a field day!

So what now? Well, my main priority is finding a job, but at this moment in time, I'm more concerned with taking a well deserved and long overdue holiday. And so I am heading home for the weekend with the family and have a camping trip next week.

Part of this weekend will be spent sorting out the last bits and pieces for the new Genesis Awards season, but I also plan on dragging my youngest siblings out to the park or something. Actually spend some time with them.

And from next Tuesday I will be away camping! We're going to Wales, to a campsite at the foot of Snowdon. The boys are planning on climbing it, so we'll see what happens. Just expect pics!

When I return, I shall hopefully finally get some writing done. I have a fic idea that's a year old now, and still hasn't gotten past the basic idea. This isn't because its a bad idea, but because I just haven't had the time. I imagine I shall be poked until I finally do get somewhere with it.

Anyway, I think I have rambled for long enough! Have a good week all!

mood: tired

music: 'I'm on my Way' - The Proclaimers

Here it is! My summer reading list! (part one)

These are only a few of the books I aim to read over the summer.
For interest sake, I have included a little bit about each book (mainly the blurbs) beneath the cut, but list as it stands is as follows:

* 'The Time Traveler's Wife' - Audrey Niffenegger
* 'The Dark Side of the Sun' - Terry Pratchett
* 'Notes from the Hard Shoulder' - James May
* 'Storm Front' - Jim Butcher

( Read On... )

mood: anxious

music: 'Come Get Some' - Rooster

Well, originally this update was going to be about how I finally had a day to myself and my intention to actually plan/write something today. Instead I'm going to rant a little. Feel free to skip ahead.

Firstly, I've just been informed that my project viva (def: noun - an oral examination, typically for an academic qualification) is tomorrow (exact time still pending) and is with the scariest lecturer in the department. So instead of writing, I have to prepare for that by re-reading all my background information and going through my project. I am actually quite worried about it.

I've been trying to get in touch with my tutor for over a week now about my exams, but he took forever to get back to me. Until this morning, that is. Now, today, when I want nothing more than to just chill out in the sun, I have to sit around near my laptop waiting for a reply from him to give me a time to meet with him. Thanks, Dr R. Thanks a lot.

But either way, after tomorrow I WILL have a few days to myself. I still have a report and presentation to write for next week, but I can actually take my time over it, and sort out those things for GA that I may have ignored over the past 2 weeks.

...Yeah, sorry about that, guys!

But, in two weeks time I'll be in a field in Wales setting up a tent. I can't wait for it!

mood: working

music: You're Gonna Go Far Kid - The Offspring

So, seeing as I have a flood of new friend requests, does this mean that people actually want to hear my nonsensical ramblings about nothing in particular? Well, I guess I had better actually start writing them down then...

A have a few busy weeks ahead. I have exams tomorrow and Wednesday, a presentation on Friday, I go home to visit the 'rents this weekend, as well as preparing for two more presentations, studying for another exam and writing a report. I'm so close to the end that now is a really bad time to screw up!

Good thing I have cadets and GA to keep me sane.

...

Well, as sane as I ever could be...

mood: worried

music: Sum 41 - Various

As the month of April draws to a close, my holiday is almost over. And that means one thing: deadlines.

I have a seven thousand word project report to write for my dissertation, and a presentation to prepare for, not to mention exam revision and job applications to fill. And yet I am still finding it hard to motivate myself. Instead I am finding refuge in tasks that I absolutely loathe, foremost among them being cleaning. Normally, I'll clean when I need to, but over the past few days, I've been looking for excuses to clean. Or, in fact, do something that *isn't school work!* My room is tidy (and rearranged to accommodate the PS2 I'm getting), the communal areas are clean, all my ironing is done in advance... I'm running out of excuses now, but every time I sit at my desk to work, I stare at my notes for half an hour just thinking, "How the hell am I supposed to start this?"

I know what will happen. It'll get to the last week and suddenly motivation will kick in and I'll be scrambling to get everything completed on time. People may want to stay out of the blast area when that happens.

mood: chipper

I was sent this by a friend a while ago, but only just found it on my computer. Enjoy!

WARNING: this is all in good fun, but if you're European, extremely patriotic AND have no sense of humour, then don't bother reading. If you do have a sense of humour, however, please continue!

( Read On... )

Something I wrote in response to a challenge posted on the Genesis Awards forum. Nothing amazing, but I tried...

Challenge:
One of the Turks being pranked on the job by another Turk.

( Read On... )

Ok, this is my best story to date. I wrote it one night when I was sat next to my Dad as he played one of his online games. Hence the inspiration.

Summary:
What happens when the Turks get their hands on a new video game?

( Read On... )

So, here's the first story I wrote and published on fanfiction.net.

Summary:
How does a character deal with the death of his companions? This is just one way they might.

( Read On... )

So... my journal, eh?

What to expect: