Voted

broderic on November 9, 2016

Woke up at 4 because I’m still getting use to not Daylight Savings Time. But also quite nervous, because I wanted to vote early. Got up, got dressed, swigged some O.J., then headed to my polling place around ten ’til seven. When I got there, the parking lot had spaces, but the line was long. We piled into the building, which made the line turn into a Disney World special. I was close to the door to the polling place, but the line snaked around the corner which was a deep corridor.

It took about 35 minutes before I got my ballot. Five minutes to vote. Then another 15 minutes before I could scan it in the one ballot reader they had there.

About an hour to vote. Hope it turns out good. I’ll miss President Obama. I’m hoping his successor would be just as good.

Bookstore Haul: Vol 14 The Graphic Novel

broderic on November 6, 2016

Before each and every “Bookstore Haul” post, I put some preliminary sentences trying to sum up something I thought of as I browsed the aisles. This is one such sentence.

In reality, I don’t know what I am going to say about the group of books I bought this past trip. Yes, they are comics. I’m hoping that the blue monday one is also a slice of life comic. The Bride’s Story is sort of. It’s really good. I’m hoping that blue monday is as well.

This is a sentence to end this segment. Bye bye!

blue monday volume 1 by Chynna Clugston Flores
Bride’s Story by Kaoru Mori

Miss Hokusai

broderic on November 6, 2016

The Charles is winning me over because they show a lot of anime. One that I was looking forward to was Miss Hokusai. This one is about the painter of that famous Japanese painting about the tidal wave and Mt. Fuji and also about his daughter. She is also a painter and contributes most of the story to the film. What little it was.

The problem with this film is that it is a slice of life anime. Now I love me a slice of life anime, but as a movie, I’m not too sure. It sort of rambled on from one vignette to another in their lives. There wasn’t a story to tell. It started on a bridge, and it ended on a bridge. In between, there wasn’t much story.

Perhaps, I had to go into the Japanese mode of looking at the emptiness. In the empty space, I found some things to like. There was a sequence in a brothel which was interesting. There was the passage of time marked by the growth of a puppy. There was the comedic side kick who wasn’t the best artist. There was the sempai who the daughter had a crush on. Pieces of life that made some sense in the movie.

Hopefully, the next anime at The Charles is a good one, too.

3 of 5 stars.

The Girl On the Train

broderic on November 6, 2016

The Girl On the Train is similar to Gone Girl. It has crazy women bent on killing people. The men? They’re despicable, too. No one is good. Everyone is no good. And there are bodies.

The movie itself was okay. As a thriller, it did keep me guessing. Then when it ended I knew, I’d been had, because this one writes itself.

Now watch it. It seems we have a girl problem.

3 of 5 stars.

Bookstore Haul: Volume XIII Zombies Roam The Cities

broderic on October 30, 2016

Is it the weekend? Do I hate being home? Did I end up at the bookstore?

Yes. Yes. Most certainly yes.

I arrived late in the evening, but not late at night, and the bookstore was quiet. There wasn’t too many people wandering around. It wasn’t empty, but it wasn’t filled with people.

I’ve been going to the bookstores for a long time. Back when the big box bookstores started opening up in the late 19990s and early 2000s, there were a lot of people going. It was a very lively scene. The bookstore cafe would be filled with revelers drinking coffee and having desert. The aisles had people browsing. The register would always be ringing.

Nowadays, it is quiet and only the hard core readers would be there. Is it because of the digital revolution? Is it because millennials don’t read books anymore? Is it because big box bookstores are on a decline? I have no idea, but it is like the zombie apocalypse in there. And I am the last survivor.

I Am Hero by Kengo Hanazawa
Halloween card for the niece

Link of the Day [10.29.16]

broderic on October 30, 2016

Carp. So close. They almost could’ve done it. But they play National League style ball. And the Fighters have that Kaibutsu, Otani.

I would’ve loved to have seen a win for Hiroshima. I wanted to see Himetan in Carp red. I wanted to see Maaya cheering, too. I’ll have to settle for fresh Lemon, Miorin, and her dejected cheers.

Hopefully, they’ll be there again next year.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2016/10/30/baseball/japanese-baseball/fighters-wrap-japan-series-title-dramatic-eighth-inning-fireworks/

Bookstore Haul: Volume XII — いただきます

broderic on October 28, 2016

I wander into the bookstore usually without a care in the world. It’s a place that I find myself because I can’t stand being home by myself with nothing doing. Let me go to the bookstore to find myself with nothing doing. OCD. It is what it is. Ritual. It is a hard habit to break. Because I will buy a book. Almost all books are tempting. I found this book in the food essay corner. It looks more like another travelogue of Japan. I need to get there one day.

いく！

Super Sushi Ramen Express: One Family’s Journey Through the Belly of Japan by Michael Booth

Horror More Halloween Less

broderic on October 28, 2016

Is it me or has this month of October been rather subdued in its celebration of Halloween? I think we have the election to blame.

In the months before October, we have seen many horrors from that rat bastard, Donald Trump, that we have forsaken the fake horrors that we reserve for Halloween. We’ve lost our appetite for horror because we have been living a nightmare of an election.

If not the ghastly leader, but his minions that make us scared of ourselves, in who we’ve become, and in our neighbors as well. We are surrounded by zombified citizens who will eat our brains not for nutrition but because they want us dumb, too. And the nation is cursed like a werewolf.

We need to wake up. Get this election over with. Kick the rat bastard into history. And make sure we never hear from him again.

I’m all for a more normal spooktacular October.

Link of the Day [10.19.16]

broderic on October 20, 2016

Hashimoto Nanamin is graduating from Nogizaka46 in February next year, and I feel sad. Another of member of my favorite idol group leaving. This one is tough to take as she is returning to her private life and no longer partaking in the Japanese entertainment industry. Once she’s done she’s done.

I am selfish in that I want her to stick around. Or at least be available as an entertainer. I don’t want to lost track of her. But that is stupid selfish talk.

She deserves what she chooses. She brought her fans so much joy that we she wish gets it back as much.

I wish her well when she graduates.

http://akb48daily.blog.fc2.com/blog-entry-299.html