Night of the Jedi

When I agreed to go with Spock to the dentist on Friday, I was prepared for the blood, and the pain that he would be in. What I wasn't prepared for was his Deathbreath-- a horrendous mixture of old blood, gauze fumes, medicine, and a wicked onslaught of halitosis. He has trouble smelling, so it doesn't bother him, but from the time he woke up from the anesthesia he has had the worst breath, and I can't kiss him because of it. The reason Spock was at the dentist was because he had to have all four of his wisdom teeth pulled; they were growing in sideways. The operation went well, but he was woozy for a while, and threw up blood at one point; that wasn't pretty.
So, I've spent most of my weekend at Spock's house, taking care of him. I made Jello and chocolate pudding for him on Saturday, and we decided to have a Star Wars marathon. We watched Episodes VI, I, and V on Saturday, and IV and III today; he doesn't own II, and I couldn't find it at the video store. We also watch the third X-Men, which neither of us had seen in a while. I don't think I ate a single healthy thing all weekend, apart from dinner on Saturday, which was somewhat nutritious. Today was mostly Jello, pudding, and candy. Sometimes, I just have no self-control.
My list today will be have two parts. I have found a list of Star Wars title translations, and I will pick the most interesting out of these for each of the six movies, noting what language they are. Then, I will pick a quote from each.

Episode I: Sinister Shades [Hungarian]
Qui-Gon Jinn: I can only protect you, I cannot fight a war for you.
Episode II: The Clones are Attacking [Czech]
Yoda: Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is.
Episode III: Revenge of a Sith [Finnish]
Darth Sidious: His death was a necessary loss. Soon I will have a new apprentice, one far younger and more powerful.
Episode IV: Celestial Body Great War [Chinese]
Han Solo: Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.
Episode V: The Empire Punches Back [Norwegian]
Princess Leia: This bucket of bolts is never gonna get us past that blockade.
Episode VI: The Return of the Jedi Knights [German]
C-3PO: I do believe they think I am some kind of god.
Han Solo: Well, why don't you use your divine influence and get us out of this?
C-3PO: I beg your pardon General Solo, but that just wouldn't be proper.
Han Solo: Proper?
C-3PO: It's against my programming to impersonate a deity.
May the Force/Schwartz/forks be with you.
~Sushi

We Have 200 Couches for You to Sleep On

As I may have mentioned, Satan Santa brought my family a PS3 and Beatles Rock Band. The great thing about Rock Band instruments is that they can be used with any version of the game. Well, Freak came over yesterday for a sleepover before she goes back out to university, so I rented Rock Band 2, just in case we got sick of the Beatles. _{For some people, that's blasphemy. For me, not so much, ever since my sister became obsessed with them.} We never even touched the Beatles version. I had no idea Rock Band 2 was so damn fun, especially since I had never played the PS3 version. I also never had any other instruments. Prior to Christmas, we had one set of drums I got from eBay for $25. I enjoy playing the drums, but singing is more my forte, and Freak prefers the guitar. So, Freak picked up the Hofner bass and I grabbed the mic, and we jammed with our weird-looking band, Hanging Skeletons, until 2AM.
One thing I noticed about the songs on Rock Band 2 is that many of them have ridiculously complicated lyrics. I know many of them, but the ones I don't, I just trip over. Even some songs I was familiar with, like "That's What You Get" and "Nine in the Afternoon" proved challenging. Also, when I've got the mic I notice a lot more on screen than I do on the drums. There are so many pretty colors...
In addition to Rock Band 2, I also rented Tekken 6. For the most part, I love the Tekken series, but it works much in the same way that Microsoft operating systems do; there's a good-bad-good-bad pattern. For example, the first Tekken was awesome, but Tekken 2 was wretched. Tekken 3 was a revolutionary video game for its platform, while Tekken 4 was nauseatingly awful. Tekken 5 had new features that had never been seen in a fighting game, and allowed the gamer to play arcade versions of the original games in the series. Tekken 6 has no original versions, a billion cut-scenes, and TAKES FOR-FUCKING-EVER TO LOAD! Sorry, but I'm really disappointed in this game. I was under the impression that Namco had broken the streak and made two good games in a row, but I suppose that's not possible for them.
In the spirit of video games, I present to you:
Six Amazing Tekken Characters
1. Yoshimitsu - The only Tekken character to appear in every incarnation of the game.

2. Eddy Gordo - The only character I could beat my cousin with.

3. Mokujin - It's a block of wood. That can kick your ass!

4. Jinpachi Mishima - He has a giant, evil mouth coming out of his tummy!

5. Marshall Law - There is only Law.

6. NANCY-MI847J - If anyone knows how to _legitimately beat her, please tell me.
Nancy has no official pictures, per se; there are mostly just crappy screenshots of her. So, here is a video of her. As a note, I don't approve of spamming in order to beat difficult bosses. That's just silly.
Here's hoping Tekken 7 comes out soon.
~Sushi

Celebrate, Panda-Style / CONTEST: Day 3

So far, six people have entered the WeeBeast contest, five from my Facebook feed, and one from the actual blog. They are as follows:

1. Sarah U.: Bertrand

2. Amanda J.: Ogden

3. Nastassia W.: Fred/Freddy

4. Kim R.: Gumby

5. Kirk D.: Percival

6. Anonymous: Carey/Carrie

In order to put up the poll, I need four more submissions. We're over half-way there! Are you as excited as I am?! I doubt it!


Anywho...
My baby sister's sixth birthday is tomorrow, and in honor of that very special occasion, I present to you:
Six Adorable Pictures of Pandas!


















Happy birthday, Sunshine!
~Sushi

American Cosplayer: Delving into Japanese Tradition

~This is a paper I wrote earlier this year, for the summer semester. Enjoy!~


In early May, I attended my first anime convention, Anime Central, located in Rosemont, Illinois. Anime is a Japanese style of cartooning and comic books, the drawings in which showcase characters with elongated limbs, large, expressive eyes, and frequently, magic powers of some kind or other. I attended this convention because I had become acquainted with the art form of cosplay. A cosplayer seeks to accurately recreate the costume and mannerisms of a character from a particular show, book, or even video game.
Cosplay is, in effect a sort of theatre art. The convention I attended even offers what is dubbed “The Masquerade,” a venue that allows cosplayers to perform skits in costume. As is stated in our textbook, “Costume designers work with the entire body of the actor” (204). Such is also the case with a cosplayer. To properly design a costume, its purpose must be understood, and attuned to the body of the wearer. In my case, my mother and I created a costume of the character Raiden, a combatant from the Mortal Kombat video game series. As a fighter, Raiden’s costume must be able to move freely; the clothes he wears must never keep him from using his body to its fullest. And because of this, I chose breathable fabrics with which to create the costume, not only for the sake of the character, but also because of the weather conditions.
A friend of mine, Jia, has been cosplaying for several years now, and I have taken her as a mentor in order to further myself in the understanding of what it takes to be a great cosplayer. Jia is an award-winning cosplayer and costumer, and she judges at conventions country-wide. Below is Jia, cosplaying as Belldandy, a goddess from the anime/manga series Ah! My Goddess:



My classmate, Shy, has offered his comments on the construction and design of this costume:


"The focal point is her face with the lines created by the gold triangles leading the eyes. The draping cloth of the arms of the costume feature vertical lines that seem to imply a high status for the person the costume represents, and seem to give a sense of lightness. That, along with the light, loose fit of the clothes, and the pose seems somewhat reminiscent of the goal of ballet dancers to portray dancers as ethereal beings not bound to the earth. Mass is primarily in the torso and head with the blond hair and dark blue fabric being darker and more opaque than the lighter blue."


These comments really capture the essence of the costume, and the skill with which it was created.
I encourage those who enjoy sewing and camaraderie to consider cosplay as a possible hobby. It is a wonderful way to meet fascinating people, and to become more cultured in the art of costuming, and in Japanese culture as a whole, I enjoyed Anime Central, and plan to attend many conventions to come.


And now, five other totally amazing blogs that you should visit:
1. Jia*Jem
2. Damn Interesting
3. Neatorama
4. Why the Fuck Do You Have a Kid?
5. David Mulley
6. Apostrophe Abuse
So, if you ever get bored with my [absolutely fascinating and awe-inspiring] posts, check one of those out. I'm still way cooler. [WARNING: SARCASM DETECTED]
~Sushi