Sidenote: For some reason, DA isn't letting me change my "mood" for this journal entry. So here it is: reflective(insert imaginary emoticon here).

Haven't updated in awhile, been fairly busy with work(as usual) and some personal stuff(not so usual). But things are looking better now, plus I have vacation coming up, so yay! Here's what I've been into lately, in no particular order:

1. Recently re-watched "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" and downloaded the soundtrack. Really digging Davy Jones' theme(and the theme for the Kraken). I remember that I wasn't very impressed with the film at first, but upon rewatching it, I'm fascinated by Davy Jones' character. But then again, I'm also a fan of Bill Nighy. Can't quite put it into words, but "magnetic" and "distinctive" come to mind. There's also genuine warmth behind his smile in the candid photographs that I've seen of him, which is rare(in my opinion) for celebrities.

2. Also watched "The Vision of Escaflowne"(each syllable is pronounced, so it's "ess-kah-flow-nay") in its entirety, along with "Escaflowne"(the movie). While I normally prefer to watch the English dubbed version of anime, I also check out the subbed version and in this case, I found the subbed version to be far superior. The Japanese voice actor for Dilandau was amazing, although my favorite character is Folken(I love that name). I don't know, maybe I have weird taste, but I think he's gorgeous. *drool* Especially with black wings. See here: [link] (you may need to click "Full View" to get it to show). I should probably note that while I enjoyed the series, I didn't really care for the film that much(except I did like the more organic feel for the Escaflowne armor). And for those who found Merle to be annoying, I thought she was cute. Just my two cents.

3. Finally finished "Fullmetal Alchemist." Going to watch the movie, "The Conqueror of Shamballa" next weekend, so I'll reserve comments until then, as I'm not quite sure what to make of the ending yet. I just hope that Shou Tucker gets killed off, one way or another. I know, that sounds terrible, but I've never forgotten(or forgiven him for) "Night of the Chimera's Cry." Seriously, if there's equivalent exchange, something's gotta happen to him. Bastard.

4. Avatar, woot! I know where I'll be each night beginning July 14th. The finale should be kickass. Be sure to watch it, people!

5. Not sure what brought this memory back, but I remembered playing a game called Hover! many years ago, so I searched to see if I could download it somewhere. It's a simple game with outdated graphics, but I still find it very entertaining. You pilot a hovercraft and the goal is to collect your flags before the enemy collects all of its flags. Simple, but addictive.

6. Speaking of games, you can now play one of the greatest games of all time for free on GameTap! That would be "Deus Ex"(the original, the first one), which ranks up there with "The Legend of Zelda: The Ocarina of Time" and "Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II" as my favorite games of all time(Half-Life and World of Warcraft are also up there). The graphics and AI are dated, but the story is as relevant as ever(perhaps more so) and the blend of RPG and FPS mechanics has yet to be improved upon. Very highly recommended!

7. And of course, I've also been continuing to listen to Yoko Kanno, mostly her music from "The Vision of Escaflowne" this week(to go along with viewing the anime, naturally). I really like "Shadow of a Doubt" so far, with the violins, although you can't mention the music of Escaflowne without mentioning "Dance of Curse." Rock on.

So, let's see...vacation for July 4th and the week following, Avatar beginning on the 14th, and then there's a local anime convention coming up at the end of August(and my favorite voice actor will be there, Crispin Freeman! *squee*) So lots of good stuff for the summer. If you're reading this, I hope your summer's going well so far.

Hmmm...this is quite long for being "nothing much," eh?