Jason P. Jordan

First http://www.breathcapture.com is a must visit URL. First thought: "wow this is stupid". Second thought: "I know what I'm getting everyone for Christmas"...(If you should receive one in the mail, please feel special and wear it around your neck at ALL times. (I'll will be sure to have contracted the avian flu prior to donating this bit of me into this "air-tight" ampule. Just to share the love....))

I thought a company that actually sold breath capture ampules was ludicrous. Then I discovered resolution 29 which was unanimously passed by the Idaho state legislature to commend the makers of the movie "Napolean Dynamite". This short, 2-page resolution can be read in its entirety at http://www3.state.id.us/oasis/HCR029.html .

This has got to be a first in US history. The first time when a piece of government legislation regarding a movie is funnier than the movie itself (which I found to be overrated though it had its moments). A few of my favorite lines from the bill include:

page 1, line 18 which states, "WHEREAS, Uncle Rico's football skills are a testament to Idaho athletics" (I propose Rico as the new mascot for EVERY Idaho football team)

page 1, lines 36-37 which state, "WHEREAS, Kip's relationship with LaFawnduh is a tribute to e-commerce and Idaho's technology-driven industry" (Yep, when I think technology, I think Idaho.)

and the all time best line in a piece of state legislation:

page 2, lines 2-5 which state "WHEREAS, any members of the House of Representatives or the Senate of the Legislature of the State of Idaho who choose to vote "Nay" on this concurrent resolution are "FREAKIN' IDIOTS!" and run the risk of having the "Worst Day of Their Lives!"" (just a barrel of belly-laughs those Idahoan state legislators)

Yep, Idahoans of all stripes should feel secure knowing that their state is in good hands...

Alright y'all. As I am sure most of you are aware, RJ released book 11 of WoT this month. I have read it and must say it is a definate step up from the previous two travesties RJ called novels. RJ actually moves the story forward in this book, and, believe it or not, STUFF ACTUALLY HAPPENS. Hell, RJ even manages to finish a couple of story-arcs and doesn't start 101 new story-arcs in the process. Jordan is on record as saying he thinks he'll complete the series in 13 books. Definately doable. This book is about as good and as bad as book 7 in the series....On a diff note, I have been playing more games lately and must say that Grand Theft Auto is a blast (I know, I am VERY late to this party.) Anyway, GTA Vice City has been awesome...If you are a fan of action adventure games, play it....

Hey guys...my boss just won the Nobel Prize for chemistry which I must say is quite cool...I must say, though, that I found the description of the our chemistry as "Green Chemistry" strange/funny since it is ridiculously incorrect...

Let's see...haven't updated in about 8 months. I guess that means it's time for another Jason Jordan novella where I entertain all with the mundane goings on of my so-called life. [begin unwarranted and ridiculously inaccurate ego trip] I know that you have all been holding your breath in anticipation awaiting this latest rendition of my many exploits here in sunny Pasadena. So I shall now satisfy all the desires of you, my myriad of devoted fans. [end unwarranted and ridiculously inaccurate ego trip]

Times could be better and worse. At work, research continues and some progress is made. However, I am finding that chemistry doesn't really get me excited any more and am strongly considering a change in career path. I will finish my PhD here at Caltech (after all the degree will serve to open doors) though I believe that my future work will not be chemistry intensive. Don't get me wrong. I don't hate chemistry, and it's likely that I will never fully leave it. I just don't see a career for me in hardcore chemical research. I will likely branch out into the business side of chemical industry. I am also considering other options such as consulting. I am not really sure yet on the exact nature of what I want to do. I will finish my degree over the next year and likely interview for jobs next fall...

Just returned from the annual group camping trip. It was fun as ususal. Went to Sequoia National Park and hiked among the big trees and saw a couple of peaceful mountain lakes. I had to fix the van before the journey. The air-conditioner was broken (again), and I had to replace the two rear sealed ball-bearings at a total cost of >$1000. While I got the vehicle free of charge, I have since paid its worth in repairs. However, I am not complaining since this is still far less than I would have to pay to buy a new car, and it is MUCH easier to live in CA when you own your own set of wheels.

On the book front, I have enjoyed Stephen R. Donaldson's "The Man Who..." mystery series though it is nothing special (more of a character exploration than mystery really). I have also been reading R. Scott Bakkar's second book, "The Warrior Prophet" which I quite frankly dislike. This is a real bummer after I greatly enjoyed the first book and thought the series had promise. However, by the second novel, he makes all characters sufficiently unlikable (for different reasons) that I can't really identify or root for any of them. As a result, I can't "get into" the book and have yet to finish it after many months. However, I am looking forward to the new Martin book to be released in the fall (FINALLY) and the new RJ to be released (the sadistic side of me forces me to continue reading WoT). JV Jones next release is also forth-coming.

As to visual media, I currently watch the anime: Naruto (still going), Bleach, Speed Grapher, Monster (just 14 eps left in a 74 ep series), and Gun X Sword (think Trigun meets Cowboy Bebop meets Big O). While I am entertained, none of these strike me as being terribly special at the moment. I must admit, though, that Monster has been extremely good on the whole and worth the many episodes dedicated to it. Also, I just watched the Banner of the Stars III OVA just released. It is a two ep OVA and gives some completion to the Banner of the Stars series (one of my all-time favorites). In many ways the show was bittersweet as it was essentially a good-bye to some rich characters and a great story-line with some issues seeming insufficiently resolved. I haven't been to many movies recently, but I must say that Batman Begins was far and away the best Batman movie of all-time. It immediately became one of my all-time favorites being a Batman junkie as I am...

That's all for now. I will try to be somewhat more regular with my posts from now on...

Jason

Got back from my Christmas holiday in Indiana (visiting relatives) Saturday. Being as the vacation itself required a vacation, I returned to work today...Anyway, in my off time I read Tad Williams War of the Flowers (strictly okay) and played a LOT of Prince of Persia (beat Sands of Time (loved it) and am a good way through Warrior Within (greatly enjoying it)). Also, yesterday, I watched the extended version of LoTR Return of the King. I must say that Return of the King is definitely my least favorite Lord of the Rings movie, and that the extended version was simply way too long. Of all the added scenes, only ~2 of them (the Sarumon (sp?) and the scene where Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas hijack the Mercenaries ships) really add anything of substance to the movie. The other scenes simply make the movie longer (at best) or are completely retarded/acid trips (at worst). I was not impressed. This is the first time when I truly preferred the theatrical release over the extended version....

Just a quick update to let everyone know my opinions on recent anime and books...First, I finished reading Stephen R. Donaldson's latest book (first in the last 4 book Covenant series) last Friday and must say that it's terrific. Donaldson shows that he is still a master of the fantasy genre. For fantasy fans, Donaldson fans in particular (I repeat myself, I know) buy/read this book immediatly...

On the anime front, there are a couple of good anime worth mentioning. First, the entertaining anime: My HIME (HIME is an acronym, NOT the word princess), Bleach, and Sunobouzu. All of these series are fun to watch though nothing spectacular. A better anime is Space Symphony Maetel which currently promises a terrific story though its animation is somewhat dated (though a 2004 series). However, there is a series that looks to be something special--Gankutsuo. If you at all enjoy anime, you owe it to yourself to obtain this series. The story is based on "The Count of Monte Cristo", and you can definately see its influence though there are some interesting twists in the story in Gankustuo. Also, the animation/style of Gankutsuo is top notch and like nothing I have ever seen in anime, and I've seen alot. I also enjoy its music. Instant classic from Gonzo....Also, just in case some of you old-timers are intested, Gainax is releasing a new Gunbusters/Aim for the Top OVA. The first ep was decent....My $0.02...

Alright it has been well over a month since I last posted...Figured that it's about time I spoke up and was heard/ignored...Potential long post warning....

Within the last month I have learned that having a root canal financially sucks (it cost me a cool $900 after insurance). Combining this with a short trip to Vegas is even more of a financial drain. Yep, in a short 2 week span I managed to spend $1400. For those of you with jobs making real money, this is not all that much, but it forced me to max my credit card and is forcing me to live frugally for the next few months.

Now I know most of you have done the math and realize that I spent $500 in Vegas. I spent that money in only 2.5 days in Vegas. (I hate to imagine the cost of a long Vegas trip.)Only $100 of that money was lost gambling--though it only took me ~1hr at a blackjack table to accomplish this formidable task. (Word to the wise, NEVER play black-jack for any length of time. If you are ever ahead, quit immediately.) The rest of the money was primarily spent on, *cough* *cough*, "entertainment consultants". You see, I was at Vegas as part of the bachelor party of a friend of mine. I knew exactly what kind of bachelar party it was going to be when I walked into the room we were all sharing (a luxury suite at the Flamingo) about 15 min. after said friend only to hear groans coming from the television. Yep, it only took 15 min. for 24 hr porn to be ordered. Seeing that we were staying in a luxury suite (think 2 separate bedrooms (3 beds) plus a separate living area, dining area and a small kitchen with 3 total bathrooms) we had a very large screen television. Trust me, you have not seen porn unless you have viewed it on a large screen TV...It was kind of funny though when the attractive, foreign female waitress delivered chicken wings to the room at 4:00 am to be met by a bunch of guys sparsely arrayed around a large screen TV watching porn. She giggled like a school-girl and was clearly uncomfortable though acting nonchalant. As for the rest of the party, let's just say that it was capped with a party-goer (NOT me) accepting a Tequila aenema (second fastest way to adsorb alcohol) and leave it at that...

**RANT AHEAD (you've been warned)** Seeing as the election is only days away, time to get political. Personally, I am not going to vote this year seeing as A) I am not a particular fan of either Bush or Kerry (there has not been an election in my lifetime where a worse pair of candidates were offered by the damned 2-party system) B) I live in CA and my vote is essentially meaningless, and C) my choice of a protest vote, the Libertarian Party candidate, is a complete nut-job (he doesn't believe in zip codes and has other over-the-top positions). However, whatever the result, I sure as hell hope that whoever wins, wins by a large margin so as to avoid any recount/courts mess. In general, this election cycle has only served to piss me off. I am sick and tired of both Republicans and Democrats--who both refuse to give ANY credit to the opposing candidate and seem to believe that their candidate's shit smells like cherries. Both parties are becoming so damn similar. No, democrats, you are NOT the party that protects civil liberties (all but 1 democrat voted FOR the Patriot Act and besides civil liberties and huge-ass government don't coexist very well--see China and France (where they now "protect" free-speech by banning head-scarfs)), and no, republicans, you are not the small-government, fiscally responsible party (see prescription drug benefit/huge-ass deficit). And what do I get to listen to after the election? A whole lot of moaning from the losing party...Especially if Bush wins seeing as the Press appears to heavily favor Kerry. (That said, the contrarian in me REALLY wants to see Bush win just to send the elitists into fits...I swear, Alec Baldwin, Sean Penn, Bruce Springstein, the LA Times, and the New York Times will collectively froth at the mouth. Hell, George Soros has promised to join a monastery should a Bush victory occur. Why is it that only famous democrats make such moronic statements as "if my guy doesn't win..." (also, see Alec Baldwin of last year)? I am still waiting for a similar statement from a famous republican...C'mon Ted Nugent, I know you gotta have one in you somewhere...sigh...

Last Sunday, I set out on a "mission" to purchase 3 particular books. I first shopped at the Borders and Barnes and Nobles book stores in Pasadena only to be disappointed. I also examined a bookstore called Vroman's (which, on the outside, appeared to model itself after B&N). However, upon walking into the store, I was immediately drowned in the snobbish aura of the humanities--a horrible vibe that accurately foretold their pathetic Sci-Fi section. In the end, I had to drive a few miles to the B&N in Glendale (which is appropriately large with a great Sci-Fi section) to acquire the books of interest--R. Scott Bakker's "The Darkness that Comes Before" and Greg Keyes "The Briar King" and "The Charnel Prince". Having JUST finished "The Darkness that Comes Before" (book one of "The Prince of Nothing" series, book two due out in January), I can tell you that my slight voyage was well worth it. I must now admit that I operate under the conceit of having a decent nose for finding quality fantasy authors. (I know that I was the first to introduce Stephen R. Donaldson, George R. R. Martin, and Steven Erikson to at least one of you.) That said, R. Scott Bakker's "The Darkness that Comes Before" is EXCELLENT, and this series join's Martin's "Song of Fire and Ice" and Erikson's "The Malazan Book of the Fallen" as being head and shoulders better than anything else currently being released in fantasy (that I've read). I fully expect Donaldson's new Covenant series to also belong in this group, but we'll see. Also, there was a time when RJ's WoT belonged in these rarefied airs, but let's not go there. (On a side note, Erikson's series has finally found a US distributor in Tor books with the first book released in the US just this month. Of course, the first 5 books (in a 10 book series) have already been released in the UK and Canada, and I have read and HIGHLY recommend all of them. Also, he is a rapid writer releasing a new book about once a year seeing as the series started in 1999.) I have yet to read Greg Keyes "The Briar King" and "The Charnel Prince" (the first two books of a trilogy), but I anticipate them being more entertaining time-passers than awesome reads....

I woke up Tues night with an aching mouth. Upon looking in a mirror, I discovered that one of my molar's, the very one that was aching, had a dark crater in its center--noticeably absent from all my other teeth. I immediately suspected, and still suspect, that I have a cavity. I knew that I had dental coverage, but wasn't sure regarding its limitations. I discovered that my dental plan actually assigned me to a specific dental office without any other choices which really displeases me, but beggars can't be choosers. Anyway, I called to make an appointment, and discovered that I have to wait until Sept. 13 to get it examined. Sigh...At least the tooth doesn't hurt me that badly...

Okay y'all, I haven't posted in a while, but there really hasn't been much to post. However, last night while browsing in Amazon I discovered something awesome.....Stephen R. Donaldson (world's greatest author) is releasing a new (and final) Thomas Covenant series. The first book "The Runes of the Earth" is due out in October. Along with the fact that Tad Williams is also releasing a new fantasy series (Shadowmarch) makes this fall highly anticipated (along with the start of the NFL season and my Vikings kicking ass, of course). On another book note, has anyone read any J. Gregory Keyes? I just noticed him on Amazon. His fantasy novels (he also writes Sci-Fi) tend to get high praise in the customer reviews (always a good sign). I am thinking of looking into him...

Summer has been fine. My project is finally starting to get some legs under it which pleases me though it never goes anywhere near fast enough. Also, I am done mentoring a SURF student for the summer (SURF = Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship). I now find myself having considerably more time that I don't have to "babysit" anymore, but it was a good experience all in all....

The other day I was thinking random thought as per usual, and I finally made the appropriate connections that allow me to fathom the writing of Naruto. In hindsight, it should have been obvious all along. Consider the following facts:

1) a large chunk of many/most Naruto eps consist of flashbacks

2) Many eps are very heavy in dialog

3) the series pulls itself forward at a snails pace

4) there are entire eps where essentially nothing happens (eg. the last ep revolved COMPLETELY around whether Tsunade would answer yes or no to a single question...I wish I were kidding).

These facts should make the author of Naruto abundantly obvious...Clearly, Robert Jordan decided he needed to branch out into the realm of anime--showing that his skills of writing much about nothing are not limited to book form. Just thought that I would share this insight with the world...

Seeing as it has been a few weeks, I should update. I don't tend to update often, largely because, for me currently, most of my days tend to be the same. I visited Yosemite National Park a few weeks ago for a few days as part of the annual Grubbs Group Camping trip. (Once every year, the group, including our adviser Prof. Grubbs, goes camping for a few days at one of the national parks in the region.) This is the second year in a row that we have gone to Yosemite. I must say, it is still the most spectacularly beautiful place that I have ever seen--the views are simply incredible. I did three day hikes at Yosemite--one 14, one 13 and one 10 mile hike. From those hikes, I saw Yosemite Falls, Wampama Falls, Rancheria Falls, Vernal Falls, and Nevada Falls. (I must say, that there are quite a few different waterfalls at Yosemite.) Another awesome part of this trip was actually the food served at dinner. People always sign up to make dinner or breakfast once for the entire group. (There are always 2-3 people making each meal.) We had excellent meals on both Thurs. and Sat. evening--steak and potatoes on Thursday made by yours truly with Prof. Grubbs (who brought a small fortune in excellent steaks) while, on Saturday, we ate spaghetti and corn on the cob. However, as good as those meals were, they didn't hold a candle to the simply spectacular food we had on Friday night. On Friday, a Korean grad student in the group, together with his wife, prepared Korean barbecue. Also, a visiting Japanese researcher made an excellent noodle dish. Finally, a first-year grad student from Louisiana made fried cat-fish. All of these dishes were simply superb, and there was enough food to have more than one helping....I don't know if I have every eaten better in my life....

Been reading a lot of Michael Stackpole lately. I must again say that he produces worth-while fantasy novels. I am currently reading his Dragon-Crown War Cycle and am really enjoying it. Speaking of books, only one more month until George R. R. Martin's latest release. They'd better not delay it agaim...Can't wait...

I seem to have fallen into an update per 2 weeks rhythm here. Anyway, to address some issues left from my previous post, upon the comment of Qian, I watched ep 2 of Madlax and agree that my comment about it being animated feces were too strong. However, I still don't think that the series does not appear worth watching. It is too derivative and falls into the hole of Hack Sign of trading true plot development for obscurity--making the storyline artificially complex. I, personally, am going to ignore the series. I must also agree with Li's comments that Howard is incredibly racist and sexist. Something that took me by surprise while reading the stories...I must agree as well that this sexism/racism seems to reflect the times in which Howard lived...

This has been a very busy week. Last weekend I was in the San Francisco area for my cousin's wedding. A very dense weekend. I flew into Sacramento on Friday where I was picked up by my folks who were in the area visiting my father's mother and sister who both live in Carson City Nevada. My parents and I then drove into San Fran and spend the day there. I must admit that San Francisco is perhaps the most beautiful city that I have ever been in--though it is very much a city. (I felt quite claustrophobic at times. I tend to like more "space" than what is provided in big cities.) Spent ~4 hours at Fisherman's Wharf and ~2 hours at Golden Gate Park. The street performers were cool and the park is very nice. (It has a cool Japanese tea garden and other attractions.) Also, San Francisco has some ridiculously obnoxious hills. Driving up some of them you literally can't see more than a few feet in front of you the hill is SOOO steep. Then drove to Santa Anna (about ~1 hour north of San Francisco) where the wedding was being held. After a late dinner at 9:00, pm we attended a post-rehearsal dinner party held by my uncle (the father of the groom). The next day I ate brunch with my parents and my grandparents (my father's side), spent the afternoon sitting around the pool spending time with relatives, and attended the wedding which was held that night at a vineyard. (I must say, while I haven't seen a huge number of weddings, it was the best ceremony that I have ever seen.) The wedding was at 7:00pm and the reception went late into the night and was very nice. Finally, on Sunday, we drove back to Sacramento for me to catch a flight back to Pasadena. Having a few hours to spare, we stopped to watch Shrek 2 on the way...an entertaining movie....

That was simply how I started the week...On Tuesday, I had to report to jury duty. My first time ever being summoned to jury duty. Turns out, to no surprise, LA has the largest court system in the US. I was called to be a juror on a criminal case. LA has a 1 day/1 trial juror system. What that means is that jurors are summoned to report at a court house on a specific day. On that day a person will either be chosen to serve on a jury (on which he/she must serve for the duration of the trial) or the person is not chosen on that first day and has done their civic duty of jury service for the year. After a short jury orientation, all potential jurors are allowed the opportunity to post-pone their service for 90 days (any flimsy excuse will do at this point, and one can easily post-pone on 3 occasions). I contemplated postponing since I am supposed to go on a camping trip to Yosemite on Wed. next week (and a trial may go too long for me to go). However, I choose to gamble and take my chances with the jury selection process--knowing that I will not have much of an opportunity to postpone later. I was then chosen to be on the very first panel of jurors called in the morning. (During jury selection, an initial panel of 30 jurors are chosen from which are randomly selected 18 jurors to fill the jury box and be potential alternates. For every criminal trial, there is a total of 12 jurors and 2 alternates on the final jury.) The first trial was only a 3 court-day trial (judge provides a trial length estimate first thing when the jurors arrive). I hoped to be selected for this trial since it would allow me to still go on the camping trip. Unfortunately, I was not initially chosen as one of the jurors and never made it into the jury box during the juror "ejection" process. (Interestingly, the case regarded the accusation of an attractive young black lady of twice violating a restraining order against an actor on "Boston Public" whose name I initially did not recognize--who was formerly the lady's boyfriend.) Not being selected on this jury, I report back to the potential juror waiting room to report in prior to lunch. (Being selected on a single panel does not count for anything if you don't actually serve on the selected jury.) On a given day, the panel selection process is always finished between 4 and 5 (closer to 4). Thus if you make it to 4 without being selected to serve on an actual jury, you are home-free. Things were looking good for me, until I was selected to serve on my second panel at ~3:30 pm, D'Oh! I am then informed by the judge that this case will be a ~7 court-day case--which would cause me to miss most if not all of the camping trip the following week. My desires to not serve on this jury were completely ignored when I was chosen as one of the initial 12 jurors to sit in the jury box. (If I am not "ejected" by a lawyer, I'm a juror.) The jury selection process is not finished by "closing time" and I must report back the next morning at ~10:00 am. (On a side note, while waiting to be allowed into the court-room to be part of this second panel, I see a large black man walk by me from the court-room where I served on the first panel. Yes, he was the principal from Boston Public, the only character that I recognize from Boston Public--only in LA.) The following day was boring as hell. In the morning, I learn that the burden of proof in criminal and civil cases is very different. (In criminal cases it is proof "beyond a reasonable doubt" while for civil cases it is simply by a preponderance of evidence--that it is more likely that a person is guilty than not.) I am also informed that, in the state of California, circumstantial evidence is treated exactly the same as direct evidence--remind me to NEVER get in trouble in CA. After lunch, it became immediately clear that something was going on with the case as the jurors were left in the hall for a long time and the accused and his lawyer actually left the court-room for a while. After ~1.5hrs of further waiting in the hall, we are finally brought back into the court room, informed that something major has developed in the case requiring the judge to do some investigation and we were asked to return again the next morning at 10:30 am. The next morning we were then told that due to the "major development" the accused plea-bargained and are juror service was over--sometimes Christmas comes early.

On the entertainment front, I saw Harry Potter 3 on Wed. night. I enjoyed the movie though the book is far superior--to no surprise. Also, I have been reading Michael Stackpole lately and must say that I have been impressed. I have finished "Talion: Revenant" which was quite good and am ~1/2 way through "Dark and Glory War". Having read what I have of this author, I must say that he a good writer of fantasy. I think he can be accurately described as being a writer very similar to Tad Williams--someone who writes very enjoyable fantasy though he won't revolutionize the genre like George R. R. Martin. I recommend him to anyone looking for good fantasy to read...

Wow, this is one damn long update...It has made me hungry. I think that I will drive through Popeye's tonight for some fried chicken....

Not been updating much...but then again, I don't really have much to say...Work been same ol same ol with the exception that I have a SURF (read undergrad slave) working "with" me over the summer (read, I teach he learns). Seeing as he has yet to blow himself up, I must be doing an okay job. Research is as SLOOOOOW as ever though...

Finally finished reading Dark Tower book 4, the most slow and monotonous book of the Dark Tower series that I have read to date. I went into this series with high expectations seeing the many glowing reviews it receives, but I have found it to be very underwhelming...I am NOT impressed..though I have read MUCH worse (Starshield anyone?, really what were Weiss and Hickman smoking?...and where can I get some?)...Am now reading a collection of Robert E. Howard's first 13 Conan stories ("The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian" from Del Ray). I am far more impressed with Howard than with King...a good read, I like his gritty sense of fantasy...though the stories come across as somewhat cliched, but that probably wasn't so much the case back when Howard was writing....

The more I watch it the more I like the anime Monster..the same can be said for Shura no Toki...both excellent series, and, along with Hi no Tori, among my favorite anime currently being released..(none holding a candle to Full Metal Alchemist, of course, though these eps may be difficult to get now that it has been licensed)...I watch many other series, of course, but don't have anything to say regarding those...except that after watching one ep, I deemed Madlax to be equivalent to animated feces...except that animated fecal matter would be much more original than than this series (where a gun-toting mercenary bitch, a la noir, is simply untouchable)...my $.02...

Haven't updated i a while...Nothing new around here with the only thing happening recently being my cable modem connection going down for a time two weeks ago. Unfortunately, alot of new anime was released about that time, and I was downloading like crazy for a couple of days to catch up... Of the myriad of new series, there are a couple that I am starting to like though most are pretty ho-hum....

IMO, the best of the new anime is by far and away Monster. After that I'm liking Gantz and Hi no Tori. Melody of Oblivion is also showing some promise, but, for some reason, I am skeptical. The same goes for Gainax's new series, Kono Minikukumo Utsukushii Sekai (what a mouthful). Midori no Hibi, while really screwy, was pretty interesting at first, but the "girl-as-my-right-hand" shtick has gotten old after only 3 eps. The only anime that I had an immediate "violent" negative reaction to is Madlax which quite frankly sucks and should be avoided at all costs....

Still reading the Dark Tower series which should kind of show you what I think of the series...If it was the next greatest thing since sliced cheese, I would have finished all the books available by now. As it is, it's not bad but not really great either. I am nearing the end of book 4 and must admit that I have been needing to force myself to finish the book. I am really hating this horribly long flash-back sequence--it's boring me out of my mind. (Note to Stephen King: all flash-back sequences used for character enrichment need to be short and spaced out during the main plot-line. Otherwise reader feels like he/she is simply standing still and the main story isn't going anywhere.) In the end, I think that the Dark Tower series is best described as the result of mixing a touch of Fritz Leiber and Michael Moorcock in with a HUGE amount of J. R. R. Tolkien and the old west. I think that I would have liked the series a lot more before reading Jordan, Martin, and Erikson...I really strongly prefer modern fantasy over the more Tolkienesque fantasy that dominates Dark Tower (though Jordan needs to get his ass in high gear and finish his damn overly-long series)...

I watched two eps of anime today...King of Bandits Jing OVA (great, as Jing eps always are) and Naruto 77...Which leads me to my Naruto rant...

Creators of Naruto, if some chance of fate has you reading this, GET YOUR HEADS OUT OF YOU COLLECTIVE A$$ES AND SPEED UP THIS SERIES ALREADY....I find this series to be analogous to those english dubs of asian samurai movies. You know, when a character appears to mouth ~1000 words to say the single English word "Hello". Except Naruto is actually worse! I swear it would take AT LEAST 3 eps for Naruto to say the single word, "Hello"...

In the first ep, Naruto's mouth would form the syllable for "Hel". In order for this single mundane occurrence to take an entire ep, the animators would first "flash" into scenes showing how this event originated somewhere in Naruto's pea-sized brain--a small mental signal bouncing along Naruto's 3 or 4 synapses before finally making its way to Naruto's over-sized mouth. And yes, you would be amazed at the extraordinary circumstances experience by this one dinky mental signal during its traverse to said big-mouth. After all, most of Naruto's 3 or 4 daily thoughts get lost somewhere in this under-sized cranium.

In the second ep, the animator's practically $hit their pants when they realize that the word, "Hello", only has two syllables--requiring extreme creativity on their part to stretch this mundane utterance of an insignificant word into a 3 ep event. However, being the animators of Naruto with VAST expereince in stretching minor occurrences into epic events, they are more than up to the task. This ep starts with a lengthy summary of the previous ep where Naruto's mouth utters the syllable "Hel", but this time, the animators reveal that the mental signal for the formation of "Hel" actually received absolutely NO LOVE. I repeat NO LOVE from any of Naruto's other 2 or 3 mental signals....How it had to strive arduously against long odds to receive any recognition from its peers and always felt soooo alone...But in the end it overcame all obstacles to realize its fulfillment of purpose and form the syllable "Hel" on Naruto's mouth. In contrast, the mental signal for "lo" does not fare so well. You see, it actually DID manage to get lost in that small space of Naruto's supposedly existent brain. This ep ends with the signal for "lo" appearing dazed and confused and leaves the viewer wondering if Naruto will actually manage to say "Hello"...

Finally, in ep 3, Naruto amazes EVERYONE by showing that he can say "Hello"--a feat that all objective observers fully believe to beyond his mental capacity. But, due to his unwavering belief in himself, Naruto finally manages to say "Hello" after the mental signal for "lo" barely manages to drag itself to Naruto's mouth...Ep ends with Naruto looking triumphant and much pounding of fist in the air and much shocked amazement by onlookers...

Now, I know that this seems like a rather long post to simply spout my rage on this particular topic...But just imagine if the creator's of Naruto had written this post...IT WOULD BE LONG ENOUGH TO CRASH SERVERS!!!...

Alright, it has been a little over 2 months since I last updated. (A long time, I know.) However, it has been an insanely busy two months. Two weeks ago (Friday) I gave Organometallics Seminar where I present my work to my peers and faculty--very nerve-wracking. It is somewhat frightening when members of the audience can easily make you look like a moron (which all members of the Caltech chemistry faculty can do if they desired). That said, the weeks leading up to this seminary I was putting in heavy time trying to get results and putting together the seminar and really feeling the stress. In the end, the seminar went okay. I received numerous compliments, but you never really can tell how sincere those are...

To make matters more interesting, I had to give Literature Group Meeting on Monday one week later. (In Lit. meeting you read a bunch of articles on a topic of your choice and make a ~30 min - 1 h presentation to the group (my research group, ~24 people including my adviser) regarding what you have read.) Preparing a Lit meeting usually takes 3-4 days. Unfortunately,I didn't discover/remember that I had to give Lit meeting until a conversation with a post-doc on the preceding Sat. at ~5:00pm. (The fact that I forgot I was scheduled to give Lit. meeting is somewhat funny since I am the one who actually schedules all group meetings. Yes, I had forgotten that I scheduled myself to give Lit meeting on that monday...) To make matters worse, Scifinder (the program that is used to search journal articles) was down for updates on that Sat. until 9:00pm. Thus, I was sitting behind a computer at 9:00pm that Saturday night without a topic knowing that my weekend just got shot to hell....I finished the Lit meeting on Monday at ~5:00 am, got three hrs sleep, and presented on Monday 11:00am. All things considered, the Lit meeting actually went quite well....

Those presentations behind me, life is starting to get back to normal. I am still reading and watching anime and make the following recommendations. Books: Roger Zelazny's "Lord of Light" (simply phenomenal, an EXCELLENT book, READ NOW) (you getting this, Nate. I usually have to pester you a long time to get you to read/do anything.), Stephen King's the Dark Tower series (quite good, though I always get the feeling that it could be better). I am also looking into the author Michael Stackpole. I purchased 5 of his books (comprising one 4-book series and one novel). A reviewer on Amazon who made a lot of statements that I had to agree with (including that George R. R. Martin is the current king of all fantasy authors) claims that this guy is legit/excellent so I decided to check him out. Currently favored animes: Full Metal Alchemist(the best anime currently being produced IMO), Naruto (though it would be nice if they sped things up ALOT, I really don't need to know all the back-story of enemies that are likely going to die within the next few eps), Konjiko no Gash Bell (no really good reason, I just find that I really like it), City Hunter (have the first 29 eps (minus ep 18), oldie but a goodie), Condor Hero (incredibly cliched martial arts flick but a fun way to pass time (and I have yet to see a martial arts flick that was not cliched, aka "gravity does not apply to me" and over-dramatizing just about every situation)), Ghost in the Shell TV season 2 (only got the first ep), Juuni Kokki (someone please light a fire under these fansubbers ass). For a good change of pace I also watch Planetes, Area 88, and Yawara. While I have all the eps, I have yet to finish Read or Die TV or Gilgamesh...I am also far behind on Chrno Crusade. An old series that I watched some time ago that is VERY good is Infinite Ryvius...highly recommended by me...To some extent it is "Lord of the Flies" in space...

Oh well, enough chit-chat...I unfortunately have work to do....

Just finished a busy, but fun, week-end. On Saturday, I went with a bunch of friends to Chinatown in celebration of the Chinese new year. On Sunday, my uncle and his family visited to celebrate my B-day.

I must say that my trip to Chinatown was an experience. First, we took the newly opened Metro from Pasadena to chinatown. While nowhere near as convenient as the metro at DC, it is fairly convenient and pretty inexpensive. Also, it far and away beats dealing with the traffic problem of going to Chinatown during its official celebration of the Chinese New Year.

Upon our arrival at Chinatown, we immediately ate at a Dim-Sum restaurant called the Golden Dragon. Both the food and atmosphere of the restaurant are very different to what I am accustomed. Unlike traditional western-style restaurants whose dining areas are designed to maximize the privacy of their guests, the Golden Dragon's dining area was essentially one big, well-lit room where many tables had been set up. During our lunch, the restaurant was full and noisy. Also, the food is not ordered from a menu, nor are you served by a single waitress. Instead, waitresses push around carts that are laden with many different dishes. They then give you as many "servings" of whatever dish you desire which are placed on a turn-table centered on the table that you are seated. You then help yourself to as much of each dish as you desire. We ate from many different dishes and had dessert and drank plenty of what was excellent tea all for $10 per person--a pretty good deal. While I loved their egg-rolls, I didn't particularly like the food in general though it wasn't bad by any means. (I would willingly eat there again.) And I can't say that I really preferred or disliked the general layout/atmosphere of this restaurant versus the traditional western-style restaurants to which I am more accustomed. It is simply very different.

Chinatown itself is an interesting location. There are many shops selling various goods--all incredibly inexpensive. It seemed that the average price for everything was like $1.50. One got the impression that either the stuff that they were selling was either a) very low-quality b) made using cheap Chinese labor or C) "fell" off the back of a truck (or any and all of the above). It was interesting to see a shop selling throwing stars and switch-blades as well as large knives, all for very low prices (~$8-$20)--again causing one to question the products. Many places sold "minor" fireworks (like smoke-bombs, sparklers, etc) which were being set off all over the place, especially in the street which was blocked off for the New Year parade. The parade itself was okay. It was a mix of the traditional Chinese Lion Dance with modern parade fodder such as marching bands and floats. The parade even included a bag-piping band. While the relation of a Scottish tradition with the Chinese New Year is beyond me. It was no more out of place than most of the other marching bands.

On Sunday, my uncle and his family came to town to celebrate my B-Day. They brought the car they generously gave me, and so I am now the owner of a 1996 Plymouth Grand Voyager SE. While on the older side, the car is equipped with a lot of bells and whistles and rides nicely. I must say that I like it--though I am biased, of course. (It is nice to own my own pair of wheels.) Also, my uncle treated to both lunch and dinner at two fine steak houses--the two nicest steak houses in town. I ate a total of 28 oz of steak over the two meals, and it was all good. I must say that I had a pretty dang good week-end...

Just started using Mozilla (yeah, yeah, I'm behind the times and all) and must say that I am impressed. Far superior to IE. I especially like the Navigator Tab feature though I have yet to extensively use it...

I just finished a very productive week at work and could use a few more of them. This doesn't leave much free time, however. Not able to read or watch anime as much as I would like and typically must choose between the two. This is not feature of grad school that I enjoy, but I tolerate it knowing that my salary sky-rockets upon earning a PhD. (I also do like doing research. I would prefer to have most of the work done for me by techs (as is usually the case in industry)leaving me free to extensively read the literature. I just hand out the ideas. Can't wait...) Until then, I'll do the best that I can while putting in the time...

After hearing about this from Nate, I decided to start a livejournal account. Not having much free time, I have no idea how often I will update this journal...

Anyway, I am sitting here sweating in my apartment writing this. (It is pretty balmy here in Pasadena. Sucks to be any of you in the Northeast.) I am debating whether I should start reading Legends III or finish the Ghost in the Shell TV series...

Otherwise, the only thing big in my life currently is the fact that I will soon be getting a car. I am getting it free of charge from my uncle. It is a 1996 white Plymouth Grand Voyager with 100,000+ miles on it. However, it has a new transmission and should last another 40 - 100,000 miles out here in California. My uncle has 5 cars and decided he no longer wished to maintain this one. Generously, he is giving it to me since I could use a set of wheels. The only draw-back is that it is a minivan, and I don't even currently have a girl-friend let alone a family. I guess this makes me an excellent hook-up for all single, middle-aged women with younger children..."And Mom, along with being young, smart and handsome, my new boyfriend comes fully equipped with a minivan!"...I think that I am going to call it a party-van from this point forward...