Best. Anniversary. Ever.

Today is the relaunch of the Sailor Moon and the premier of the Codename Sailor V mangas. It also just so happens to be our anniversary today. Boy, does he know what a woman wants or what? ;) Probably the single most favorite series of mine (being followed closely behind Card Captor Sakura) that is full of girly things, magic, talking cats, and princesses. Anyone around to remember the travesty that befell the series back in the days of Mixx/Tokyo Pop should rejoice that not only is this redone (with the relaunch covers they had in Japan when the live action Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon series came out), but released by Kodansha themselves, who was the original publisher in glorious Nippon.

Side note, Kodansha has probably some of the best Japanese language resources coming out this side of the Pacific now, and it would behoove anyone studying the language to pick up some of them.

Now I get to cram my face full of sailor suited justice before we sachet off for our traditional anniversary steak.

P.S. - Yes, I really did have a black cat growing up, but his name was P.J. and he was, sadly, not from the moon (or the planet Mau). Nor did he appreciate me trying to tape a moon on his forehead when I was in Jr. High. Go figure.

Being crafty

But apparently none of my sewing needles are slim enough to fit through the small glass seed beads. :( I'll also be making Shiba heads, but figured I'd start with something easy.

Also, Craigslist is amazing, in case people didn't already know. I decided to browse for a drafting table to see what was out there, and I came across one someone was selling for :20bux:. Apparently the guy's son had used it as a desk for projects involving, but not limited to, epoxy, markers, pencils, paint, scissors, exacto knives, burning tools, ink, super glue, regular glue, Scotch tape, masking tape and Bob the Builder stickers.

Needless to say, it was a little bit of a mess. But for $20, I wasn't about to let it get away. So with a little bit of elbow grease, a straight razor, and a DVD of PGSM, I set off to work. Once it was cleaned up, I managed to find the damage to be fairly minimal and concentrated on the bottom center left edge. I might decide to go in and sand down the top and fill it in with some wood putty, but for now, I think it'll do the job.

 

Now I just need our bigger apartment so I have a place to put the damn thing...

What I'm Reading Wednesday

Woo, under the wire here, Steph.

Anyway, here's part of what is taking up part of my time. I'm currently dipping my fingers into a few literary pies at the moment.


Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of WWII - A bit self explanitory, but it's a history book about the Allied occupation of Japan from August 1945 to April of 1952. Currently about 20% through it. Great read for a bit of more recent modern history of Japan, though I am looking forward to finding something good about much older periods, next.

Japan at War: An Oral History - Heh, sense a theme? This one focuses more on personal oral reports of the Japanese during the war. Only thumbed through the first few pages so far, but I'm afraid if I start reading I won't put it down, and it's a fairly thick book and I have other things to do.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - The UK edition. After the 8th (7.5? 7 2.0?) movie came out, I decided I wanted to re-read my Harry Potters, but this time plow through the UK editions I got for Christmas a few years ago (yes, there is a difference!) I got up to the climax of the story then life and other books barged their way in. I'll finish it soon, though, as well as the other 5 books. The second one has always been low on the list of favorites in the series for me, anyway (6th is still the worst, bleh.)

The Hunger Games - Even though I'm loving my WWII books, sometimes you need a break from the serious. I'm looking forward to picking up my nook copies of this trilogy this week and sailing through it, especially since I liked Battle Royale so much, even with the guy's obsession with the song Born to Run.

Next on my list will probably be the Game of Thrones series. And I'm about to go to a book discussion group this Monday on The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Excellent read, I highly recommend it to anyone interested in science.

There are also always comics involved, but such is another post for another day. I'm very much looking forward to the relaunch of the Sailor Moon series (plus the never before released in the US premier of Sailor V!) More on how I wished the black kitty I had growing up would have told me I was a magical princess from the moon on Tuesday. :V

I Want That Wednesday

Ever come across something totally fantastic? Today I have 5 things I think I might need, pronto.

Star Trek bathrobes. Even though I'm more of a TNG fan, I have to say the Kirk one is pretty sharp (and of course the most expensive at $59.99 bloobloo). Also comes in Scotty red and Spock blue. via ThinkGeek

Piranha plant earrings! How adorable are these?! They are currently on backorder by the etsy seller, so you  might have to wait a while (we'll see how impatient I get, I might attempt to make my own...) via lizglizz at etsy

 

I'm huge into minimalist type shoes, so I tend to be a fan of almost everything Vibram or Merrell. The Evera MJ heel isn't exactly minimalist, but it's a HEEL for BIKES. Oh yeah, I totally need to rock a pair of these when they come out this February and I hope the other two colors are either blue, red or nude. via Merrell

Quite possibly the greatest thing EVER. The Wacom Inkling. Why is it so great? It's a special ballpoint pen that will take what you draw and save it as a vector or bitmap image. AND LAYERS. I am going to need one of these and a shit ton of refillable ink cartridges... via Wacom

Bills always get in the way of fun toys. :(

edit: Wow, I'm an idiot, I just realized I said FIVE things and only gave four. Okay, fine, here's number five. ;)

The Ihrin Shirt dress. This is just too adorable and looks like a men's dress shirt with a cute flaired skirt. Not only does it come in my favorite green, but a rich plum color as well. If I had an extra $300, you know I'd just have to get both colors. Picture this with those cycling pumps on my old World Tourist Schwinn...I'd be one hot mama! via Anthropologie

Mmmm Books...

It's getting hard to keep up right now, what with me about to move to the graveyard shift and we're currently trying to find a new place to move (which is proving to be a headache...bleh.)

So here, check out some of my all time favorite books on NPR's top 100 science fiction list (which is the best genre, IMO). There's only one series on there I did not like, and I've read a fair chunk of them. Might need to pick some more up for the upcoming terrible shift...

NPR's top 100 Sci-Fi Fantasy books

I so would...

Are you color blind?

Why oh why do they keep making Princess Celestia toys pink? She is not a pink horse. And yet toys keep coming out and she's friggin puce. What is the deal, Hasbro?

In other news, I got a new webcam, which makes it evident that my apartment is a mess. In other other news, we're moving out of this messy apartment to a new one end of September. It's bigger, so hopefully it won't be such a hovel.

P.S. Happy Gotcha Day, Koji. You've ruined my life with your dust and your fur for the last two years, and I hope you'll be around to do it for many more to come.

edit: I think I need a new office chair. That or I need to not sit down for 10+ hours at a time in this one, but that seems like extra work.

edit 2: Ooooh it's about to get all kinds of unproductive up in here...