Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Yasuragi's LiveJournal:

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Tuesday, February 21st, 2006
9:41 pm	The Move It's finally happened. I warned of this months ago, but now that I've hit a new turning point, I figure it's for the best. I've picked a new journal, sans funny little numbers after the main ID. Somehow, I think this one suits me better. And yes, it's still on this same site. Many of you already know the name I chose. If you don't remember, and you want to keep track of me, ask away. I'll be here. (1 Comment |Comment on this)
12:00 am	Birthday Today I say hello to my third decade. That's right, I've hit 20. Mmmyup. That's about it. Typical birthday for me. (7 Comments |Comment on this)
Sunday, February 19th, 2006
4:43 pm	Bob. Bob. Bob! Bob. Bob. Bob? Bob. Malcolm. ...*whack!* Since you all seem to think I'm insane, I'll give you a few hints. 1. It's from a movie. 2. Neil Gaiman wrote the screenplay. 3. Dave McKean directed, and both wrote the story. This is the only movie that both have had major contributions to at once. 4. In this scene, every word is spoken by a different character, although almost all of them look the same. (4 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, February 16th, 2006
8:13 pm	Pandora's Box: Dracula A few entries ago, I vented my frustration over a storyline in Clan of the Cats. Some people may have gotten the wrong impression from this post, since I wrote it with only a handful of people in mind. First, let me say that Clan of the Cats is an excellent story overall, and I would highly recommend anyone to read through the archives from the beginning. When I first ran into the comic around September of 2003, I did just that. I was amazed at what Jamie Robertson had done with the story. Chelsea, while she would become quite powerful later on, started unsure of herself, and grew slowly as she learned to cope with the alien world of magic. This is a wonderful, yet dangerous world, one that takes both strength and wisdom to survive. Now, she's seen as the Queen of the Underworld, but she doesn't seem ready to take on the title. She's just one woman; why should she have all that power? ( Continued. Warning: LONG. May contain spoilers. ) (2 Comments |Comment on this)
8:08 pm	I'm working on a new mascot for icons and so forth, since the spirit-fox bit I have here's been in use for a good two years. To tell the truth, that icon's just a lucky result of an alien-map and two well-placed "Supernova" lights, plus a good use of layers. It was about half an hour's photomanipulation, and I can't even remember where I got the stock from. Still, if I release the new icon as it stands, it's going to look really tacky. It needs a lot more work than I have time for tonight. In other news, I've had to take a good number of hours to catch my breath after seeing two extra comments down on an old entry. I seriously wasn't expecting those two people to even find this journal! Not that I'm complaining, mind you, it's just unexpected... I'll have to do a proper critique of CotC, now. My vent-post really doesn't do the subject justice. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, February 15th, 2006
7:30 pm	So the Vice President goes out with a hunting party... If you've seen the news lately, you can't possibly have missed the story. Cheney accidentally shoots one of his friends in a hunting party while out shooting quail. The shot peppered his friend across the chest and face. Reasonably horrified, he tells another friend (if I remember right, this was the person who owned the land) to get the word out to the locals, then gets to a hospital with his injured comrade. The White House refuses to confirm the issue, possibly because our VP hadn't told them the whole story yet. News travels slowly in these circles. The media's response? Wasting almost 80% of their airtime on the story, asking such inane questions as "Why did it take so long for it to get out? Why did it take four days for him to admit he fired the shot? What does the White House have to hide? Oh My God, Conspiracy, Conspiracy, Raise The Klaxon!" Now don't get me wrong, here. I don't particlularly like Cheney or the administration at large. I consider most of their policies destructive to the country at large, although they at least haven't completely lost their senses (we still pay some taxes, so they're only pulling most of their cash out of thin air). But the fact still remains, Cheney is not some monstrous creature from another planet, nor is he some demonic entity with glowing red eyes. He's a human being, and he has flaws like the rest of us. He made a mistake, he shot his friend, probably from a split-second mistake. Put in his position, how would you handle it? Would you have the presence of mind to make every call by the book, and to call "HQ" to confirm the accident immediately? Or would you trust your friends to help you out in times of need? I know I'd probably trust my own friends more than formal coworkers, especially if said coworkers were all politicians. I also doubt I'd make the call to stand up for a press conference within hours, or even within a day of watching a friend's body chewed up by a stray round of birdshot. This Media Circus has gone on a little too long. I think it's time they let Common Sense take the wheel, and changed their tune a bit. No matter how you feel about the current administration, you have to admit that our VP is human; I think he should be treated as such. Current Mood: annoyed (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Tuesday, February 14th, 2006
9:28 pm	Valentine's Day, Eh? I have no problems whatsoever with Valentine's Day. I'm still single, it's true, but that hasn't been a problem in previous years. Still, I do have one little issue with the way it's celebrated. It's horribly, terrifyingly PINK! I, for one, find that incredibly disturbing. Mostly because I just don't like the color (as if that wasn't obvious by now). Red I can deal with; pink needs to end. (2 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, February 13th, 2006
10:03 pm	Okay, can someone clear this up for me? What's all this fuss about Johari Windows? Why are they spreading so much lately? (Comment on this)
4:49 pm	I gave in and got soda. 12 bottles of Diet Pepsi. Hopefully that'll last the week. Water and tea just won't do it anymore. (Comment on this)
Sunday, February 12th, 2006
5:04 pm	Now that this site is working again, instead of just displaying the word "Image," I bring you The Corrected Garfield! My favorite out of the strips that have appeared here so far would be this one. It's decidedly surreal. And honestly, I can't imagine it with the thought ballons they took out. What would you say to something like that? The rest can be found in this forum thread in Truth and Beauty Bombs, assuming that the combined forces of Eric Burns1 and Neil Gaiman2 haven't utterly overloaded the poor site again. Popularity kills servers, you know. So, go there. Look. Find out why Garfield can be better than it is today! 1Eric Burns is most well known for the webcomic-review/personal-blog Websnark, although he's also written material for several RPG system supplements in the past, and tried his hand at writing a handful of his own webcomics. 2Neil Gaiman is most famous for his Sandman series, as well as the recent book American Gods.* *I nearly mistook Neil Gaiman for J. Michael Straczynski, creator of Babylon 5 and Midnight Nation. This is probably because the very-difficult-to-write review of Midnight Nation has been begging to be written since I finished the story. It's incredibly difficult to explain what the series is about, so just search around and buy the trade paperback, if you like. I'll write the review once I figure out how not to spoil anything. (Comment on this)
1:58 pm	SNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOW! How am I supposed to get soda now? (Comment on this)
12:51 am	The neighbors are having one of those "Wild Parties." I don't get involved in these, mainly because they last far too long into the night. Example: It's nearly one AM here. They're still at it. They're presently jumping up and down to the tune of "Jump On It." Yes, a song from the 90s. And people wonder why I refuse to get drunk? Ye gods. If only I could get some soda in this room, though. I'm running out. (Comment on this)
Friday, February 10th, 2006
10:57 pm	What, am I supposed to feel pathos? Is anyone still reading Clan of the Cats? Because today's strip, well, it's just so damned predictable. Yes, dear old mama has been bitten by Dracula. Yes, Chelsea the fricking Elder God Shapeshifting Purebreed Immortal I-Don't-Care-Anymore is going to come to save the day, possibly, maybe. I don't know. When these two got captured and taken to the dark and brooding lair of the Inevitable Cliche -- Oh, I'm sorry, Vlad the Impaler aka Dracula, I knew already that he was going to try and turn the woman. It's the typical vampire thing to do, thanks to Anne Rice. I hate Anne Rice. Honestly, without her we wouldn't have nearly so many people espousing themselves as all-powerful vampires in roleplays and bad fiction through the world. Vampires would be the same dark-evil-and-ugly things they always were in both Eastern and Western cultures. They're not eternally pretty, they're not nice creatures, and they're not godlike beings. They're things that feed on blood, and they're dead bodies moving around. They can be destroyed. Now if only the Perfect Being Syndrome dear old Jamie Robertson is stuck on would fade away into nothingness, we could get somewhere. He might be able to wean true pathos out of cynical souls like myself. Instead, he keeps pandering to the cliches. I've had it. This comic is officially off my list. It was fun while it lasted, Jaime. I hope to see your works again, under brighter skies. (12 Comments |Comment on this)
Thursday, February 9th, 2006
8:25 pm	While I'm letting the tip of my finger heal Let me show you a little something that's been bouncing around. I laughed quite a bit at this, but it's the kind of nervous laughter you get when you think, "I know these people. They just don't get it, do they?" OMG Girlz Don't Exist on teh Intarweb!!!!1 I know plenty of women on campus. Almost all of them use the internet. A good proportion of them also play video games, although more of them play RPGs from what I've seen. The thing is, so do I. It took me ages to bother picking up a first-person shooter, because I found the concept ridiculous. Then I found out they're actually pretty fun. But I still think you need a keyboard and mouse for it; the whole X-Box dual stick thing is ridiculous. And personally, I'd like to see more women speaking up and getting onto these games, if they're interested. It doesn't matter what sort, either. Do what you enjoy. Oh, and if you're on voice chat, don't forget to speak. The adolescents need to learn that there's a whole other gender of gamer out there, and they're just as ready to kick your ass as the next "guy." (As an aside, can we get a petition in place to make "guy" a gender-neutral English word? I've gotten in trouble for this in the past.) That's all from this male sometime-gamer. See you folks later. (Comment on this)
8:03 pm	Wow. I didn't know it was possible to cut your finger on the corner of a refridgerator by opening the door. That really stings right now. Current Mood: ow. ow. ow. ow. (Comment on this)
Wednesday, February 8th, 2006
9:55 am	I remembered the book. I remembered the cheese. I even remembered the alarm clock I brought with me. Still, I forgot the swiss cake rolls I bought on the way there. I always have to forget something. At least this time it wasn't important. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, February 7th, 2006
3:56 pm	It's the middle of the week, and yet, home I must go. To fetch a textbook and a block of cheese. ... ever get the feeling you're in a comic strip? (Comment on this)
Monday, February 6th, 2006
6:56 pm	First Impressions (of a webcomic) The comic known as Girly is weird. Very, very weird. Most of the people in that universe are either stupid or incredibly insane, making for a sort of comedy online doujinshi. Sometimes, weird is good. My only complaint? What the heck is with all these hentai adverts in the side screen? ... it's because Winter hits people in the head with a giant dildo, isn't it. Some people... (2 Comments |Comment on this)
9:54 am	So I Drove Here Last Night ... What? What are you waiting for? That is the news, thank you. Yes, I'm a year and some change away from being able to legally get plastered on the walls (which I never plan to do, mind you), and yet I haven't been allowed to borrow the old '93 Saturn the folks have neglected back home. Not until yesterday, that is. The weather could've been better, I suppose, and I could've gotten a parking space closer to the room, but I managed to get here in sheets of rain without sliding off the pavement. The car's parked straight in the lot, it has its permit on the rearview. There's not a scratch on it that hasn't been there long enough to rust already. Count that as an accomplishment if you like; I might. For now, I've got essays to write, circuits to simplify and General Relativity to learn. Catch you folks later! (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Friday, February 3rd, 2006
4:13 pm	What was your speech-writer drinking? I read this whilst skimming Debate in the NCD (I haven't signed in for a week), and thought it was ridiculous. Then I actually looked it up on the White House official site. "Tonight I ask you to pass legislation to prohibit the most egregious abuses of medical research: human cloning in all its forms, creating or implanting embryos for experiments, creating human-animal hybrids, and buying, selling, or patenting human embryos." - George W. Bush delivering the State of the Union address, Jan 31 2006 Let's work our way down the points. Human cloning for reproduction has serious problems, of course, and I'm against it. I'm also against the use of embryos for experimental procedures, although it's going to be tough to find other sources of stem cells for research (I'm confident we'll find them, though). I also agree that human embryos should not be bought or sold, nor should they be patented; I would add to this that human genes should not be patented, and I hope he will at least agree to that. But "human cloning" is something I can't see being illegalized; not "in all its forms." Cloning is a very broad term, and it includes making cultures of cells (for instance, skin grafts) which shouldn't be made illegal. Similarly, as an advocate of regenerative medicine and stem cell research, I'm fully against any measure that would make "cloning" single organs outright illegal. Sometimes I wish the word "clone" were less ambiguous in biology. Still, that's not the big problem. "...creating human-animal hybrids..." What the hell? Honestly, what has your speech-writer been drinking, George? Humans and most animals cannot interbreed, not even to make a mule. Maybe some primates, but let's not go there. A "hybrid" would require that sperm and egg combine from two separate species to form the resulting animal; this can't work. The last attempt (human and rabbit, of all things) "died" after splitting into about two dozen cells (at which point the "embryo" would have been absorbed by the mother anyhow; basic reproductive biology). I really don't see the point in legislating against an impossibility. So, what was the speech-writer's meaning when the word "hybrid" was used there? Was he referring to experiments in implanting human cells into mice, for instance? Those can produce more human-like organs, and therefore better models for human diseases. I can't see those being illegalized. If he really is that worried about it, then what about people with pig-hearts? Are they abominations that should not be, simply because part of them that wasn't working right has been replaced with a working, albeit inhuman organ? Sorry, you lost me there, Georgie. I may not be able to agree with most of what you say as it is, but in this, you're not just wrong, you're downright insane. At least you tried to nest it inside other, mostly unrelated tidbits, and didn't call direct attention to it. Now take your writer off the absinthe-mugwort cocktails, please. I think he's gone off with the March Hare again. (Comment on this)