{"@attributes":{"version":"2.0"},"channel":{"title":"This Is Who We Are","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/","description":"This Is Who We Are - LiveJournal.com","lastBuildDate":"Fri, 17 Feb 2012 07:27:02 GMT","generator":"LiveJournal \/ LiveJournal.com","image":{"url":"https:\/\/l-userpic.livejournal.com\/105155549\/12545349","title":"This Is Who We Are","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/","width":"100","height":"100"},"item":[{"guid":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/195132.html","pubDate":"Fri, 17 Feb 2012 07:27:02 GMT","title":"We Need To Talk About '11","author":"essandem","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/195132.html","description":"It's been too long in the offing but procrastination (from moving from where I'm presently sitting, no less) has finally made it happen.


Haiyoru! Nyaru-ani
Kimi ni Todoke S2
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Kore Wa Zombie Desu Ka?
Fractale
Blue Exorcist
[C] The Money of Soul and Possibility Control
Denpa Onna
Dororon! Enma-Kun Meeramera
Kaiji S2
Nichijou
Tiger & Bunny
X-Men
Karigurashi no Arrietty
Mawaru-Penguindrum
Maria-Holic Alive
Un-Go
Fate\/Zero
Natsume Yuujinchou San
Redline
Mardock Scramble: The First Compression<\/a>

A Game of Thrones by GRRM
A Clash of Kings by GRRM
A Storm of Swords by GRRM
Ghost Story by Jim Butcher
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Johannes Cabal the Necromancer by Jonathan L. Howard
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy by John Le Carr\u00e9<\/a>

Community Season 2
The Heart, She Holler
Boss Season 1
Homeland Season 1
Justified Season 2
Game of Thrones Season 1
Alphas Season 1
Eureka Season 4
The Killing Season 1
Breaking Bad Season 4
Eagleheart Season 1
Boardwalk Empire Season 2
True Blood Season 4
Bored To Death Season 3
Superjail! Season 2
NTSF:SD:SUV:: Season 1
Childrens Hospital Season 3
Glee Season 2
Fringe Season 3
Human Target Season 2
Louie Season 2
Luther Series 1 and 2
Doctor Who Series 6
Hawaii Five-0 Season 1
Treme Season 2
Archer Season 2
The Good Wife Season 2
Modern Family Season 2
Parenthood Season 2
Parks and Recreation Season 3
Castle Season 3
Sons of Anarchy Season
Damages Season 4
Torchwood: Miracle Day
The IT Crowd Series 1-4
Californication Season 4
Chuck Season 4
How I Met Your Mother Season 6
Weeds Season 7
Dexter Season 6
It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia Season 7
Law & Order SVU Season 12
The Office Season 7
30 Rock Season 5
Burn Notice Season 5
White Collar Season 2
Sym-Bionic Titan
The Shadow Line
The Chicago Code
United States of Tara Season 3
Futurama Season 6
Supernatural Season 6
House Season 7<\/a>

Blue Valentine directed by Derek Cianfrance
Biutiful directed by Alejandro Gonzalez I\u00f1arritu
Rabbit Hole directed by John Cameron Mitchell
Black Swan directed by Darren Aronofsky
True Grit directed by Joel & Ethan Cohen
The King's Speech directed by Tom Hooper
The Green Hornet directed by Michel Gondry
Barney's Version directed by Richard J. Lewis
The Mechanic directed by Simon West
Cedar Rapids directed by Miguel Arteta
I Am Number Four directed by D.J. Caruso
The Adjustment Bureau directed by George Nolfi
Rango directed by Gore Verbinski
The Lincoln Lawyer directed by Brad Furman
Paul directed by Greg Mottola
Win Win directed by Thomas McCarthy
Sucker Punch directed by Zack Snyder
Source Code directed by Duncan Jones
Hanna directed by Joe Wright
Thor directed by Kenneth Branagh
Priest directed by Scott Stewart
Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides directed by Rob Marshall
Midnight in Paris directed by Woody Allen
The Hangover Part II directed by Todd Phillips
The Tree of Life directed by Terence Malick
X-Men: First Class directed by Matthew Vaughn
Beginners directed by Mike Mills
Super 8 directed by JJ Abrams
Green Lantern directed by Martin Campbell
13 Assassins directed by Takashi Miike
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows- Part 2 directed by David Yates
Captain America: The First Avenger directed by Joe Johnson
Cowboys & Aliens directed by Jon Favreau
Attack The Block directed by Joe Cornish
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame directed by Tsui Hark
Submarine directed by Richard Ayoade
The Guard directed by John Michael McDonagh
Rise of the Planet of the Apes directed by Rupert Wyatt
The Machinist directed by Brad Anderson
30 Minutes or Less directed by Rubin Fleischer
Enter the Void directed by Gaspar No\u00e9
Fright Night directed by Craig Gillespie
The Debt directed by John Madden
Contagion directed by Steven Soderbergh
Drive directed by Nicolas Winding Refn
Moneyball directed by Bennett Miller
50\/50 directed by Jonathan Levine
The Ides of March directed by George Clooney
Real Steel directed by Shawn Levy
The Three Musketeers directed by Paul W.S. Anderson
Martha Marcy May Marlene directed by Sean Durkin
The Rum Diary directed by Bruce Robinson
The Descendants directed by Alexander Payne
Hugo directed by Martin Scorsese
The Muppets directed by James Bobin
My Week with Marilyn directed by Simon Curtis
Young Adult directed by Jason Reitman
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows directed by Guy Ritchie
Mission: Impossible- Ghost Protocol directed by Brad Bird<\/a>

Radiohead, \"The King of Limbs\"
Childish Gambino, EP, \"Culdesac\"
The Vaccines, \"What Did You Expect from the Vaccines?\"
Atmosphere, \"The Family Sign\", \"Seven's Travels\"
Tyler the Creator, \"Bastard\", \"Goblin\"
OFWGKTA, \"The Odd Future Tape\"
Starfucker, \"Reptilian\"
St. Vincent, \"Strange Mercy\"
M83, \"Hurry Up, We're Dreaming\"
Homestuck, Volume 4-8, \"The Wanderers\", \"Prospit & Derse\", \"Mobius Trip & Hadron Kaleido\", \"Strife!\", \"AlterniaBound\", \"The Felt\", \"Medium\"
Destroyer, \"Kaputt\"
Cut Copy, \"In Ghost Colours\", \"Zonoscope\"
The Dodos, \"No Color\"
The Lonely Island, \"Turtleneck & Chain\"
The Antlers, \"Burst Apart\"
Dengue Fever, \"Cannibal Corpse\"
Jay-Z & Kanye West, \"Watch The Throne\"
Kanye West, \"My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy\"
Girls, \"Broken Dreams Club EP\", \"Father, Son, Holy Ghost\"
BADBADNOTGOOD, s\/t
Ben Folds Five- \"Ben Folds Five\", \"Whatever And Ever Amen\", \"The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner\"
Ben Folds, \"Rockin' The Suburbs\", \"Ben Folds Live\", \"Songs For Silverman\", \"Stems & Seeds\"
C'est Chic! French Girl Singers of the 1960's
Taniuchi Hideki, Kaiji OST 1 & 2
Captain Beefheart, \"Safe as Milk\", \"Strictly Personal\", \"Lick My Decals Off, Baby\", \"Clear Spot\"
The New Pornographers, \"Together\"
Hooray For Earth, \"True Loves\"
Bomb The Music Industry!, \"Vacation\"
John Maus, \"We Must Become The Pitiless Censors of Ourselves\"
Kurt Vile, \"Childish Prodigy\", \"Smoke Ring For My Halo\"
Wolf Parade, \"At Mount Zoomer\"
Daft Punk, Tron Legacy OST
Grizzly Bear, \"Veckatimest\"
California Guitar Trio, \"Whitewater\"
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, \"Nocturama\", \"Henry's Dream\", \"The Good Son\", \"Let Love In\"
Flying Lotus, \"Cosmogramma\"
Dark Was The Night: A Red Hot Compilation
Women, \"Public Strain\"
James Blake, \"CMYK EP\", s\/t
Best Coast, \"Crazy For You\"
Space, \"Spiders\"
Broken Social Scene, \"Forgiveness Rock Record\"
The Olivia Tremor Control, \"Black Foliage: Animation Music\"
April March, \"Chrominance Decoder\"
Das Racist, \"Relax\"
Gorillaz, \"The Fall\"
Cee Lo Green, \"The Lady Killer\"
The Microphones, \"It Was Hot, We Stayed In The Water\"
Mogwai, \"Rock Action\"
David Byrne & Fatboy Slim, \"Here Lies Love\"
Spoon, \"Transference\"
Beach House, \"Teen Dream\"
Local Natives, \"Gorilla Manor\"
Caribou, \"Swim\"
Atlas Sound, \"Let The Blind Lead Those Who See But Cannot Feel\"
David Byrne & Brian Eno, \"Everything That Happens Will Happen Today\"
A-1, \"After School Special\"
The Dodos, \"No Color\"
The Birthday Party, \"Prayers On Fire\"
2562, \"Fever\"
El Guincho, \"Alegranza\"
Hauschka, \"Ferndorf\"
The Tallest Man On Earth, \"Shallow Grave\"
Fang Island, s\/t
This Will Destroy You, s\/t
Yuki Kajiura, Puella Magi Madoka Magica OST 1
Aperture Science Psychonauts Laboratory, Portal OST 1+2
Rolfe Kent, Sideways
Akihiko Matsumoto, Summer Wars
Flogging Molly, \"Within A Mile Of Home\"
Kassin, Michiko to Hatchin OST
Wilderness, s\/t
Regina Spektor, \"Far\"
Super Furry Animals, \"Rings Around The World\"
Murs, \"Murs For President\"
Big K.R.I.T., \"Return Of 4Eva\"
Cass McCombs, \"Catacombs\", \"Wit's End\"
Cults, s\/t
EMA, \"Past Life Martyred Saints\"
The Antlers, \"Burst Apart\"
Chris Tilton, Fringe Season 2 OST
Low, \"C'mon\"
Dengue Fever, \"Cannibal Courtship\"
The Book of Mormon
Sucker Punch OST
Ramin Djawadi, Game of Thrones OST
Airs, \"Joyless\", \"Rainclouds Over The Remains Of Hope\", \"Untitled\"
The Black Lips, \"Arabia Mountain\"
The Chemical Brothers, Hanna OST
MC Lars, \"This Gigantic Robot Kills\", \"The Graduate\"
Mos Def, \"Black On Both Sides\"
Neon Indian, \"Psychic Chasms\"
Tom Waits, \"Glitter And Doom Live\"
Baths, \"Cerulean\"
Makoto Yoshimori, Durarara!! OST 1
Murray Gold & BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Doctor Who: Series 5
Freelance Whales, \"Weathervanes\"
La Roux, s\/t
Zomby, \"Dedication\"
Ben Folds & Nick Hornsby, \"Lonely Avenue\"
Ben Folds Presents: University A Capella!
Pantha Du Prince, \"Black Noise\"
The Radio Dept., \"Clinging To A Scheme\"
Adult Swim, Singles Program 2011, [unclassified]<\/a>


[C] The Money of Soul and Possibility Control
Dororon! Enma-kun Meeramera
Fate\/zero
Kaiji Season 2
Kimi ni Todoke Season 2
Maria Holic Alive
Mawaru Penguindrum
Nichijou
Puella Magi Madoka Magica
Tiger & Bunny<\/a>

Breaking Bad
Community
Fringe
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife
Homeland
Justified
Parenthood
Parks and Recreatioin
Sym-Bionic Titan
Honorable Mention: Damages<\/a>

50\/50
Captain America: The First Avenger
Contagion
Drive
The Guard
Moneyball
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Super 8
The Tree of Life
X-Men: First Class
Honorable Mention: The Muppets<\/a>

The Book of Mormon
The Chemical Brothers, Hanna OST
Dengue Fever, \"Cannibal Corpse\"
Jay-Z & Kanye West, \"Watch The Throne\"
The Lonely Island, \"Turtleneck & Chain\"
Radiohead, \"The King of Limbs\"
Starfucker, \"Reptilians\"
Sucker Punch OST
Tyler the Creator, \"Goblin\"
The Vaccines, \"What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?\"<\/a>","comments":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/195132.html?view=comments#comments","category":["stuffing my ears","tv owns my life","at the movies","japanimation","nose in a book"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/192586.html","pubDate":"Wed, 11 May 2011 08:09:58 GMT","title":"All Brit Everything","author":"essandem","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/192586.html","description":"The good people of the United Kingdom have given us many things- military support, some wonderful culinary concoctions, royal gossip and, lately, some damn fine TV. Yes, I've been watching many things from across the pond in the past few weeks. Doctor Who is back at full strength, but there are a few things that I've recently got into that are a little more grounded in reality...

I don't even need an LJ cut to sell you on 'The IT Crowd'- it is a hilarious workplace drama starring players from The Mighty Boosh. I've yet to watch a single episode that didn't have me in stitches on at least three separate accounts. Add to that the fact that each of the four existing seasons is a scant 6 episodes, and you have a great return for a minor investment.


If you saw a little movie by the name of 'Thor' this past weekend, you know that Idris Elba has serious acting chops. 'Luther' lets him work on the whole stage, as unconventional Detective Inspector John Luther. If you've seen a procedural crime drama, you'll see the standards of so many other shows at work here... but there's a psychological element brought to the table that gives this one a thoughtful edge rarely seen in that world.
<\/a>

'The Shadow Line' is a dark procedural drama starring The Ninth Doctor and The Operative. If you need to know more than that, I'm not sure I want to know you.

Saw Thor<\/i> on Friday. I came out of the theater a bit unimpressed, but as I let the film sit with me for a bit, I came to realize I enjoyed it more than I initially thought. Definitely want to check it out again and just let me eyes glaze over any time they're not in Asgard or Chris Hemsworth isn't soaked<\/s>.

Aaaand I've been reading many comics of late- mainly catching up on the backlog of X-Men related things I've built up in the last year or so. I'm up to the third arc of X-Men Legacy, which is roughly 2 years into Mike Carey's run on the title. I'm quite enjoying it, even if it does slow down here and there, the art is great. It's a damn sight more enjoyable than the first 5 volumes of Wolverine Origins. Having read some of Daken's solo title, I hoped to find more of the same in that book. God, I was wrong. 27 issues of slow-played comics with some of the shittiest art you could imagine (WHY DOES ANYONE ENCOURAGE STEVE DILLON TO CONTINUE DRAWING?!!) and then it's made all the more infuriating when you start reading Original Sin and you realize you could have avoided wasting the time and money spent on picking up the previous 5 trades 'cause they just recapped everything for you on the first page- which has art that blows away 95% of what you just read. Say goodbye to any money of mine you thought you had coming to you, Daniel Way.

tl;dr- Mike Carey's X-Men is well worth your time, Wolverine Origins is the cancer killing comics.<\/a>

Events are fixin' to occur in the next few weeks. Updates as they are warranted.","comments":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/192586.html?view=comments#comments","category":["ranty mcrantrant","tv owns my life","at the movies","hittin' the comic stand"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/192403.html","pubDate":"Thu, 05 May 2011 04:15:35 GMT","title":"Fried Omelette","author":"essandem","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/192403.html","description":"Dunno why I've not updated in such a long time- there have been Things Of Note occurring, but I haven't felt like writing recently. I'm keeping Dad company in the living room (Mom is at her Begonia Club meeting) so I figured I might as well.

My bro was in town for Easter, which was mostly predictable- though hardly in a bad way. Copious amounts of amazing, delicious food, as is the norm for a bash at the Massih household. The whole thing is a blur, as any good party should be, really.

I've gotten my foot in the door with a temp agency in Oakland, so gods willing I'll have some cash flow- if intermittent- in the coming weeks, which would be nice what with Fanime looming ever closer.

And today I saw Win Win<\/i> with mum. A hilarious tale of human drama (wow, how descriptive and original-sounding!) and also wrestling. Having the cast that it does, it was inevitable that I would enjoy this one. Check it out if you like your comedy low-key with a side of minor drama.

Not much coming up to speak of, other than Fanime in three weeks- and my anticipation for that rivals the size of most skyscrapers.","comments":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/192403.html?view=comments#comments","category":["life in general","working hard\/hardly working","at the movies"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/192130.html","pubDate":"Tue, 12 Apr 2011 06:31:02 GMT","title":"When That Light Turns Back Again","author":"essandem","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/192130.html","description":"Been another week of job huntin' and movies, among other things.

Saw Hanna<\/i> at a screening Thursday night with Jordan, <\/a>edcool1<\/b><\/a><\/span> and <\/a>sleepfighter<\/b><\/a><\/span>. The amount of ass-kicking contained in this film- from Eric Bana, Saoirse Ronan and the countless faceless mooks- can hardly be put into words. And that's not even getting into the The Chemical Brothers' soundtrack, which just made love to my ears the entire runtime.

And the next day I caught Source Code<\/i> with mum. A (slightly) less dark sci-fi flick from David Bowie's son, this one has Donnie Darko<\/s> Jake Gyllenhal traveling through time to save many lives again<\/s>. I always enjoy a well done Groundhog Day Loop, and this was no exception. I'm looking forward to many years of Duncan Jones taking classic science fiction conceits and turning them on their head in ways we'll never expect.

Saturday, I met up with Izzy again, this time with <\/a>lichifruit<\/b><\/a><\/span>- we dined with friends of Izzy's from The Internet and headed back to her place for booze, Cthulu anime and Doctor Who. And I closed out the weekend the next day at Izzy's once again and shared with she and Lichi the remainder of Series 5 of Nu Who.

Oh yeah, and I've started watching the latest offering from those wonderful makers of awesome drama shows, AMC- The Killing<\/i>. A decidedly<\/b> slow burn murder mystery set in a (probably) rainier-than-usual Seattle, the show concerns one detective Linden and her edgy new partner Holder as they work a murder, both having to deal with their own personal lives as well as a mayoral campaign in their district. The show is dark- both in tone and use of color- but it's as compelling as almost anything else the network has put out thus far- given that I will jump on any well-made murder mystery until its conclusion, you may want to take my words with a pinch of salt.","comments":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/192130.html?view=comments#comments","category":["duct tape","tv owns my life","at the movies","my fandom got me high"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/190877.html","pubDate":"Tue, 22 Feb 2011 06:59:37 GMT","title":"The Weight Of It","author":"essandem","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/190877.html","description":"Good God, has it been this long? I feel badly that I've been away as long as I have, friends. Work is hardly demanding, but it takes my time up to the point that what little free time I have is all the more precious. What little there is to recap:

Saw Rabbit Hole<\/i> last weekend as part of my efforts to watch all films with nominations in the major categories before this coming Sunday. Harsh story of a couple coping with the loss of a child. As soul-crushing as parts of this film were, the performances from Nicole Kidman and Aaron Eckhart were both deserving of Oscar nods at the very<\/i> least.

And yesterday I went out and saw Biutiful<\/i>, the new one from Alejandro Gonzalez I\u00f1arritu. This is a complex film- par for the course for the man, but he essentially crafts a story around a single character that's wrapped up in a lot of things around him, whereas his previous flicks had several main characters all with their own stories being told simultaneously. If there was ever a man to have a story as big as this all to himself, you couldn't ask for a better choice than Javier Bardem. Equally tragic and life-affirming at turns, this one took the Best Actor nod by the throat.

LESS THAN STEALTHY EDIT: I also saw the Oscar-nominated animated shorts at work on Friday. Besides Pixar's 'Day & Night', there was a British one based on a children's story called 'The Gruffalo', 'Let's Pollute!', a lovely Australian piece called 'The Lost Thing', and an experimental piece entitled 'Madagascar'. My boss asked me which piece I'd root for, pretending I didn't work at Pixar, and I said I'd love to see The Gruffalo win- it's a charming tale of a mouse using his silver tongue to get away from the many dangers of the forest, all voiced by folks that would be familiar to any Brit-lover.

This weekend brings my second Beer Bash with my bro and Zander followed by numerous shenanigans culminating in the Oscars Sunday. FIXIN' TO BE EPIC.","comments":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/190877.html?view=comments#comments","category":["life in general","working hard\/hardly working","at the movies"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/190114.html","pubDate":"Tue, 25 Jan 2011 06:59:18 GMT","title":"Paint It Red","author":"essandem","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/190114.html","description":"'nother week of work at the happiest place on earth behind me. Among other things...


I finished Mushishi this past week- I think the anime started off a lot better because they had more material to draw from. They saw where it was going and took the tone from that. And the color\/movement works for this series like whoa. But the last three volumes still had a meaningful impact on me. It's been a long, strange trip reading that incredible series these past 4 years and I can't wait to see what Urushibara does next.

And the next thing in the stack of mine was the final volumes of Naoki Urasawa's Pluto. For those that don't know, Pluto is Urasawa's retelling of a story arc from Astro Boy, \"The Greatest Robot on Earth\". I haven't read the original, but this series stands on its own masterfully. If you're a fan of themes such as questions what it is to be human, politics on a global scale and espionage, this bud's for you.
<\/a>

Weekend was pretty damn awesome. came over Friday and we started on Justified, but she was mainly over for the return of Fringe and amazing guest star Christopher Lloyd. I can't say enough about how wonderful this episode was- if the latest ratings are anything to go by, the show's still got a fighting chance of staying on the air. I implore you, folks, if you're not already watching, check this beautiful mess out. I guarantee, if you're a sci-fi fan? This is one of the best damn things airing today, even if you've never watched an episode- and it needs all the help it can get.

<\/a>cacophonyblood<\/b><\/a><\/span> came over Saturday afternoon. Showed her the first Eva movie, which would be random of me normally, but we then headed over to the city to meet up with Izzy, <\/a>lichifruit<\/b><\/a><\/span>, <\/a>edcool1<\/b><\/a><\/span> and even <\/a>nightfeathers<\/b><\/a><\/span> (who I hadn't seen it quite some time) to catch Evangelion 2.0. My third time, but first with a big crowd. And there is nothing like seeing a film as powerful as that in a room full of like-minded folks.

After that, Jess and I headed over to the Marines' Memorial Theater for the Thrilling Adventure Hour- a radio play\/podcast featuring at least two dozen talented comedians- among them, John DiMaggio, James Urbaniak, Paul F. Tompkins, Donal Logue, Neil Patrick Harris and Alison Brie- doing hilarious skits and bits for the amusement of all. We returned to the home to catch the kick-ass first episode of the new Spartacus series before she had to head out. Damn good night.

And on Sunday, my parents and bro surprised me on multiple fronts- first by returning from their ski trip early and second by bringing back Sean's beau with them. We headed out late in the AM, picking up my best bud's bro Zander on the way and hitting the city around 1 for some amazing dim sum. We dropped Sean and Hanna off at the airport and then headed back home, where Zander and I hooked up later to watch The Machinist<\/i>. Dark, atmospheric film about a tortured soul. The music was deeply evocative and it makes for a tone most horror films wish they could aspire to. Check this one out if you get a chance, it's a trip.
<\/a>

Tomorrow brings a screening of The Mechanic<\/i> after work and this weekend brings my first company party at Pixar.","comments":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/190114.html?view=comments#comments","category":["duct tape","tv owns my life","at the movies","japanimation"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/189116.html","pubDate":"Tue, 04 Jan 2011 08:57:35 GMT","title":"Where We Begin","author":"essandem","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/189116.html","description":"I was trying to make this a quickie post, but then I went and (attempted) to finish my end-of-year list of lists of things I have seen\/listened to\/read LIKE A BOSS . It is by no means complete- I'll likely edit this at random intervals. I need to start on these things earlier. My posts throughout the year are of only minor help:


A Single Man
The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus
Sin Nombre
Crazy Heart
Kamikaze Girls
The Secret of Kells
The Secret In Their Eyes
Broken Embraces
Blades of Glory
Machine Girl
Black Dynamite
Equilibrium
Cars

An Education
Daybreakers
The Book Of Eli
Edge of Darkness
From Paris With Love
The Wolfman
Shutter Island
The Ghost Writer
Alice In Wonderland
Green Zone
Hot Tub Time Machine
How To Train Your Dragon
Chloe
Clash of the Titans
Kick-Ass
The Losers
Greenberg
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Harry Brown
Iron Man 2
Robin Hood
MacGruber
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Micmacs
The Good, The Bad and The Weird
Get Him to the Greek
The A-Team
Toy Story 3
Cyrus
I Am Love
Winter's Bone
Despicable Me
Predators
The Kids Are All Right
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
The Sorcerer's Apprentice
Inception
Salt
The Other Guys
The Expendables
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World
The American
Machete
Resident Evil: Afterlife
Never Let Me Go
The Town
Catfish
Let Me In
The Social Network
Its Kind of a Funny Story
Stone
Red
Monsters
Due Date
Megamind
Fair Game
127 Hours
Unstoppable
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Tangled
Black Swan
I Love You Phillip Morris
Tron: Legacy
True Grit
<\/a>


Bioshock 2
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time
God of War III
Bayonetta
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game
Pokemon SoulSilver
<\/a>


Doctor Who Series 5
Sherlock Series 1
Human Target Season 1
Archer Season 1
Justified Season 1
Terriers
Rubicon
Caprica
Spartacus: Blood and Sand Season 1
Fringe Season 2
Parenthood Season 1
Sons of Anarchy Seasons 1-3
Treme Season 1
The Walking Dead Season 1
True Blood Season 3
Bored to Death Season 2
Eastbound & Down Season 2
Boardwalk Empire Season 1
The Cleveland Show Season 1
Family Guy Season 8
Breaking Bad Season 3
Mad Men Season 4
Chuck Season 3
House Season 6
Castle Season 2
Burn Notice Season 4
Psych Season 5
How I Met Your Mother Season 5
24 Season 8
Heroes Season 4
Better Off Ted Season 2
Lost Season 6
The Good Wife Season 1
Glee Season 1
Modern Family Season 1
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Season 11
Flashforward
Supernatural Season 5
Community Season 1
30 Rock Season 4
Parks & Recreation Season 2
The Office Season 6
The Mighty Boosh Series 1-3
Dollhouse Season 2
Damages Season 3
Dexter Season 5
Weeds Season 6
Louie Season 1
The Venture Bros. Season 4
Metalocalypse Season 3
Party Down Season 2
Childrens Hospital Seasons 1-2
Delocated Season 2
<\/a>



Tentai Senshi Sunred Season 2
Nodame Cantabile Finale
Cross Game
Hanamaru Kindergarten
Zan Sayonar Zetsubou Sensei: No Man's Land
Denpateki Na Kanojo (Electromagnetic Girlfriend)
Angel Beats!
Durarara!
Darker Than Black: Ryusei No Gemini
Highschool of the Dead
Occult Academy
Sengoku Basara 2
Golgo 13
Toaru Kagaku no Railgun
Yojouhan Shunwa Taikei (The Tatami Galaxy)
Katanagatari
Kuragehime
Black Rock Shooter
Dance in the Vampire Bund
Seikon no Qwaser
Shiki
Senko no Night Raid
Arakawa Under the Bridge
Arakawa Under the Bridge x2
House of Five Leaves
Kuroshitsuji 2
Panty & Stocking with Garterbelt
The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya
Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood
Redline
<\/a>


The Flaming Lips, \"Embryonic\"
Fuck Buttons, \"Tarot Sport\"
Tom Waits, \"Bone Machine\"
Ladyhawke, s\/t
Man Man, \"Six Demon Bag\"
Mates of State, \"Our Constant Concern\"
Truckasauras, \"Tea Parties, Guns, & Valor\"
Omodaka, \"Cantata No. 147\"
Bat For Lashes, \"Two Suns\"
Fucked Up, \"The Chemistry Of Common Life\"
The Cool Kids, \"The Bake Sale\"
Mates of State, \"Bring It Back\"
Eliiott Smith, s\/t
Daft Punk, \"Alive 2007\"
Stereolab, \"Fab Four Suture\"
The Alan Parsons Project, \"Eye In The Sky\"
Sunset Rubdown, \"Dragonslayer\"
(500) Days Of Summer soundtrack
Califone, \"Quicksands\/Cradlesnakes\"
N.A.S.A., \"The Spirit of Apollo\"
!!!, \"Myth-Takes\"
Rodrigo y Gabriela, \"11:11\"
Stereolab, \"Chemical Chords\"
Low, \"The Curtain Hits The Cast\"
The XX, s\/t
Mount Eerie, \"Wind's Poem\"
Serge Gainsbourg, \"Histoire De Melody Nelson\"
The Beatles, \"Love\"
Gotan Project, \"La Revancha Del Tango\"
OK Go, \"Here It Goes Again\"
Yann Tiersen, \"Rue de Cascades\"
Alela Diane, \"The Pirate's Gospel\"
Vampire Weekend, \"Contra\"
Andrew Bird, \"Armchair Apocrypha\"
Bomb The Music Industry, \"Get Warmer\"
Chuck Ragan, \"Feast or Famine\"
Deerhunter, \"Turn It Up Faggot\"
Field Music, \"Tones of Town\"
Thao Nguyen, \"Like The Linen\"
The Avett Bros., \"Emotionalism\"
Defiance, Ohio, \"The Fear, The Fear, The Fear\"
The Tough Alliance, \"A New Chance\"
Robert Wyatt, \"Rock Bottom\"
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, \"Tender Prey\"
Clearlake, \"Cedars\"
Elvis Costello, \"Cruel Smile\"
Gil Scott-Heron, \"I'm New Here\"
Yann Tiersen, \"Le Phare\"
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, \"The Boatman's Call\"
Red Sparrowes, \"The Fear Is Excruciating, But Therein Lies The Answer\"
Titus Andronicus, \"The Monitor\"
Victor Berman, \"Arriving At Night\"
Blue Roses, s\/t
Built to Spill, \"There Is No Enemy\"
Ani DiFranco, \"Out of Range\"
Hot Chip, \"Made In The Dark\"
Inglourious Basterds soundtrack
Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, \"No More Shall We Part\"
LCD Soundsystem, \"This Is Happening\"
Crystal Castles, s\/t II
Big Boi, \"Sir Lucious Left Foot\u2026The Son Of Chico Dusty\"
Squirrel Nut Zippers, \"The Inevitable\"
Sun Kil Moon, \"Ghosts of the Great Highway\"
The Tyde, \"Twice\"
Max Tundra, \"Some Best Friend You Turned Out To Be\"
You Am I, \"Hi Fi Way\"
Yann Tiersen, \"Tout Est Calme\"
Nick Cave & the Bad Sees, \"Murder Ballads\"
Yann Tiersen, \"Black Session\"
Deerhunter, \"Halcyon Digest\"
The National, \"High Violet\"
Glee, the Music, volume 3
Glee, the Music, volume 4
Glee, the Music: The Power of Madonna
Homestuck, vol.'s 1-3
Commentary! The Musical
Human Target Season 1 OST
Dio, \"Holy Diver\"
Billy Idol, s\/t
Bakemonogatari OST
Homestuck Vol. 1
Homestuck Vol. 2
Homestuck Vol. 3
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, \"Kicking Against The Pricks\"
Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross, The Social Network soundtrack
Arcade Fire, \"The Suburbs\"
Sufjan Stevens, \"The Age of Adz\"
Girl Talk, \"All Day\"
The Faint, \"Danse Macabre\"
Louis XIV, \"The Best Little Secrets Are Kept\"
Eels, \"A Man Called (E)\"
Wolf Parade, \"At Mount Zoomer\"
Hans Zimmer, Inception soundtrack
Daft Punk, Tron: Legacy soundtrack
Cage The Elephant, s\/t
Das Racist, \"Sit Down, Man\"
Das Racist, \"Shut Up, Dude\"
Mozart: Symphonies 40 & 41
Mahler: Symphony #8, 9, Kindertotenlieder, R\u00fcckertlieder
Joanna Newsom, \"Have One On Me\"
Gorillaz, \"Plastic Beach\"
Robyn, s\/t
Brahms Piano Concerto #1
Ravel: Piano Concerto in G
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, \"Before Today\"
Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: OST, Score and video game soundtrack
Fringe season 1 soundtrack
<\/a>


The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson
The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson
Changes by Jim Butcher
Side Jobs by Jim Butcher
<\/a>


Annihilation volume 3
Annihilation Conquest volumes 1+2
Guardians of the Galaxy volume 1 by Dan Abnett
New X-Men issues 113-156 by Grant Morrison
New Avengers vol.1 hardcover volumes 1-3 by Brian Michael Bendis
Alias ultimate collection 1 by Brian Michael Bendis
Civil War by Mark Millar
Secret Invasion by Brian Michael Bendis
Kick-Ass by Mark Millar
Siege by Brian Michael Bendis
Siege: Embedded by Brian Reed
Dark Avengers issues 13-16 by Brian Michael Bendis
Astonshing X-Men issues 34+35, Xenogenesis miniseries issues 1-3
Carnage issues 1 and 2 by Zeb Wells
Cable and Deadpool volume 3 by Fabian Nicieza
The Walking Dead volumes 3-8 by Robert Kirkman
Ultimate Fantastic Four HC vol. 2 by Mark Millar and Warren Ellis
Mighty Avengers HC vol.'s 1+2 by Brian Michael Bendis
Ultimate X-Men Ultimate Collection 3 by Mark Millar
Daredevil issues 51-119, 500-512, by Brian Michael Bendis, Ed Brubaker and Andy Diggle
Shadowland by Andy Diggle
Scarlet issues 1-3 by Brian Michael Bendis
Casanova: Luxuria by Matt Fraction
Invincible Iron Man issues 1-33, annual by Matt Fraction
Iron Man: Extremis, by Warren Ellis
Crossed by Garth Ennis
Jenny Sparks: The Secret History of The Authority by Mark Millar
Chew issues 8-16 by John Layman
Air issues 17-24 by G. Willow Wilson
Deadpool Issues 18-26 by Daniel Way
Deadpool: Merc With a Mouth issues 7-12 by Victor Gischler
Deadpool: Team Up issues 897-887
Prelude to Deadpool Corps
Deadpool Corps issues 1-6
Project Superpowers Chapter Two issues 6-12 by Alex Ross
The Boys issues 39-50 by Garth Ennis
Angel issues 29-40
Buffy the Vampire Slayer season 8 issues 30-39
Serenity: Float Out by Patton Oswalt
Serenity: The Shepherd's Tale by Zack Whedon
Overcompensating: A Dangerous Obsession by Jeffrey Rowland
Young Avengers by Allen Heinberg
Ultimate Spider-Man 1-71 by Brian Michael Bendis
Ultimate Six by Brian Michael Bendis
S.W.O.R.D. issues 3-5 by Kieron Gillen
Avengers: The Initiative vol.'s 1-3 by Dan Slott and Christos Gages
The Punisher: Welcome Back, Frank
Immortal Iron Fist vol.'s 1+2 by Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker
Prelude to Planet Hulk by Daniel Way
Planet Hulk by Greg Pak
Nova vol. 2 by Dan Abnett
Dark Wolverine issues 77-90, 1-3 by Daniel Way
Spider-Man: The Other
Secret War
Secret Warriors issues 1-23 by Brian Michael Bendis and Jonathan Hickman
Captain America issues 1-42 by Ed Brubaker
S.H.I.E.L.D. issues 1-5
Choker issues 1-3 by Ben McCool
Thunderbolts issues 144-151 by Jeff Parker
Ultimate X issues 1-3 by Jeph Loeb
Avengers issues 1-8 by Brian Michael Bendis
New Avengers issues 1-7 by Brian Michael Bendis
Avengers Academy issues 1-6 by Christos Gage
Secret Avengers issues 1-8 by Ed Brubaker
Steve Rogers, Super Solider by Ed Brubaker
Avengers and The Infinity Gauntlet by Brian Clevinger
Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour by Brian Lee O'Malley
The Hood: Blood From Stones by Brian K. Vaughan
Uncanny X-Force issues 1-3 by Rick Remender
<\/a>


20th Century Boys volumes 7 through 12
Berserk volumes 29 through 34
Black Jack volumes 9 through 13
Black Lagoon volume 9
Detective Conan volumes 31 and 32
Gintama volumes 1 through 4
Eyeshield 21 volumes 30 through 33
Monster volumes 1 through 7
Moyashimon volume 2
MW
Yotsuba&! volume 8
<\/a>

Best of the year lists for some categories (i.e., those that are big enough to warrant them) forthcoming.

And before I go, a word on my record reviews, if any of y'all are interested:

I think I'm just going to start posting links to songs when the fancy strikes me as opposed to talking about whole albums and then posting one or two songs. I feel like this gives a better depiction of my music-listening process, plus I'm a little burned out on feeling obligated to write as much as I do every time I get done with a batch of CDs- especially now that I'm working. I'm guessing no one is going to be devastated by this, I just felt like sharing. I've heard tell of people using LJ for such.<\/a>

Happy New Year, all. If I don't return before this weekend, I'm off to a number of shenanigans before I start at Pixar.","comments":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/189116.html?view=comments#comments","category":["working hard\/hardly working","tv owns my life","at the movies","hittin' the comic stand","nose in a book","personal shit","stuffing my ears","japanimation","games of the video variety","my fandom got me high"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/187855.html","pubDate":"Mon, 29 Nov 2010 07:41:49 GMT","title":"Geronimo","author":"essandem","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/187855.html","description":"I GOT A JOB. AND I START IN THE MORNING. Yeah I tweeted and Facebook'd about that, just figured I'd cover all my bases. It's data entry at a company that performs a service similar to StubHub, viagogo. Nothing special, but it's work, and by god, that's at a premium these days. Thanksgiving weekend made it difficult to get to y'all, but I figured I'd leave something before I got into the thick of things. Speaking of which, it has been an awesome couple of days. My bro Sean was in town, we palled around, drankin', gamin', shoppin' for awesome clothes in the city- some of which I'll be wearing in the morning. All in all, good times.

Also saw some movies. Fair Game<\/i> yesterday, which was a great film, if only for how angry it managed to get me. There's been no shortage of flicks showing just how spectacularly our government has borked us in the past decade of late, but a well put-together one never fails to angry up the blood.

And today I was going to go insane if I didn't get out of the house and do something<\/i> to celebrate my lack of freedom tomorrow, so I looked up <\/a>sleepfighter<\/b><\/a><\/span> and we went and saw Tangled<\/i>. Disney did a balls-out fantastic job with this one. And in a way, I felt a strange kinship with the heroine. For I, too, have been locked in an ivory tower known as my basement, kept from the world by an evil stepmother known as unemployment... And yes, I did just compare myself to a blonde hikikomori with hair longer than <\/a>payapayapapaya<\/b><\/a><\/span>. Hilarious, action-packed and just gorgeous to look at throughout. Check it out- you'll be glad you did.

Here we go.","comments":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/187855.html?view=comments#comments","category":["life in general","working hard\/hardly working","at the movies"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/187534.html","pubDate":"Tue, 23 Nov 2010 08:30:18 GMT","title":"Wizard Needs Hug Badly","author":"essandem","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/187534.html","description":"Been a decent couple of days also known colloquially as a week-end.

Had an interview on Friday for a temp data entry job at viagogo. Seems like a decent place and I feel damn good about the talk I had with the folks there.

That evening brought the latest Harry Potter flick with my aunt and uncle, who had been unable to make it to my birthday dinner, so it was awesome to see them. As for the movie, it was strange for a number of reasons. There were a good number of people in the crowd I had not seen in a few years- all of whom didn't recognize me. Hardly surprising or insulting, considering the amount of time it's been, coupled with the fact that I looked like a Samoan caveman in my youth. Anyhow, the movie was pretty good. Some strange moments, including a ridiculous make-out sequence and a somewhat contrived dancing bit. The movie wins major points in my book, however, for using a Nick Cave song in the aforementioned dance sequence.

Went shopping in the city Saturday. Picked up an amazing<\/i> pair of olive-colored slacks with orange flannel lining<\/i>. It's like walking around in super-comfortable pajamas all the time. Also picked up a couple nice button-downs and some boxer briefs which are... interesting to get used to, to say the least.

And Sunday was pure mellow- <\/a>lichifruit<\/b><\/a><\/span> and <\/a>sleepfighter<\/b><\/a><\/span> came over and we watched Diebuster, which, while it didn't quite live up to the original, still looked amazing and had its own moments of badass. We moved on to the first arc of Bakemonogatari after that- they both seemed to enjoy it mainly for the amazing visuals. It'll always have a special place in my heart for many more reasons than that, but I'm happy if they enjoy it on any level. When they headed out, I picked up a pizza and invited Zander over to catch up on The Walking Dead, which continues to be amazing on every level- even the music is growing its beard as the season progresses. I'm excited, to say the least, to see what they do with a longer season next year. And then, I capped the evening off by my lonesome with the season finale of The Venture Bros. Words cannot describe the awesome contained within this hourlong episode. I should record the reactions people have when I show it to them- that might.<\/a>

Thanksgiving in just a few days- looking to be our smallest gathering in a number of years, with only 15 people in attendance. :U","comments":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/187534.html?view=comments#comments","category":["duct tape","working hard\/hardly working","tv owns my life","at the movies"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/186958.html","pubDate":"Wed, 03 Nov 2010 07:17:47 GMT","title":"Color In Your Day","author":"essandem","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/186958.html","description":"And here's some more music:

For a debut album, Squirrel Nut Zippers' \"The Inevitable\" is a damn good opener. The topics aren't as varied as their phenomenal senior record \"Perennial Favorites\", but they can still swing with the best of them:
\"I Found A New Baby\"<\/a>
\"Lugubrious Whing Whang\">

Sun Kil Moon stays with the relaxing and the lo-fi whenever possible. \"Ghosts of the Great Highway\", while it does have one or two more 'up' numbers, is generally a chill affair. Mark Kozelek more than gets by on his talent as a singer\/songwriter:
\"Si Paloma\"<\/a>
\"Pancho Villa\"<\/a>

The Tyde are some geeks that make indie rock music. Though their overly simplistic record titles (\"Once\", followed by \"Twice\" and \"Three's Co.\") might lead you to think that they're just another dime-a-dozen group, and you would be right, to an extent. While they don't have a lot of new things to offer the genre, \"Twice\" shows that they do what they do very well:
\"Henry VIII\"<\/a>
\"Crystal Canyons\"<\/a>

Max Tundra is a strange man that makes strange electronic music. The two songs off of \"Some Best Friend You Turned Out To Be\" that are worth sharing are both on the short side. If nothing else, I'm intrigued to see what he's done since then. But, uh, I'm not paying for it.<\/s>:
\"Tuli A Plain Ride From Canvas\"<\/a>
\"6161\"<\/a>
<\/a>

Huh, apparently, there's a parade for the Giants in SF tomorrow... given the short notice with which it was no doubt thrown together, that could make for an interesting morning commute.<\/a>","comments":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/186958.html?view=comments#comments","category":["stuffing my ears","life in general"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/186087.html","pubDate":"Mon, 11 Oct 2010 07:16:36 GMT","title":"Save Up All The Days","author":"essandem","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/186087.html","description":"Sure is hiatus in here<\/s> I return from a brief leave, having been doing many exciting things. Chief among them, a decision to return to a higher institution of learning for a short time. I'm going to look into a Certificate Program at UC Berkeley in Information Sciences (read: working with databases or in libraries). I won't get started until January, but if I can't get a job right now, this is the next logical step.

Moving on to things of real import, comics. I picked up the first issue of Uncanny X-Force this week. From the title alone, it seems like a shameless continuation of another branch of the X-Men franchise, but you would be dead wrong- deader than a Hydra grunt with Deadpool's sword through his tiny brain- to assume that. Rick Remender may be a criminally underutilized talent at Marvel- his penchant for humor has made Deadpool far more palatable than the hacks currently working his three dozen ongoings right now. And despite not (yet) having read any of the X-Men events from the last 5-odd years, it was still easy to get what was going on; the chief job of a #1. Check it out if you're able, it's a damn good time.

AdultSwim.com has a new web series, Carl's Stone Cold Lock of the Century : Of The Week, that I've been watching of late. I'm not a sports man, but if you enjoy the humor of ATHF, odds are you'll enjoy this.

Visited <\/a>cacophonyblood<\/b><\/a><\/span> yesterday- and two weeks earlier, after my cousin's wedding. This is relevant because we saw \"Catfish\" during my earlier visit and I neglected to mention it here. Enrapturing, suspenseful documentary about a relationship in the internet era, I highly recommend it. And last night, we went to see \"It's Kind of a Funny Story\", starring one of my man-crushes Keir Gilchrist. Hilarious, neurotic tale of self-discovery and romance in a mental institution. Definitely worth checking out. We also got amazing pizza and I 'showed' her Commentary! The Musical. Damn good day trip.","comments":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/186087.html?view=comments#comments","category":["personal shit","duct tape","at the movies","hittin' the comic stand"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/185606.html","pubDate":"Fri, 01 Oct 2010 05:27:23 GMT","title":"A Heathen (Child)","author":"essandem","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/185606.html","description":"I've been getting through Homestuck<\/a> at a pretty decent pace the past couple of days. It's one of the more addictive webcomics I've read... although it's so much more than that- for those not in the know, the series is partially crafted through reader suggestions, and... I just can't say enough good things about it. Check it out if you hadn't heard of it.

The beauty meme is at an end at last. It was an arduous journey, but we have reached the end. I find your tastes slightly skewed, F-list, but I still heartily approve.


Hugh Laurie





Christina Ricci




<\/a>

And as one meme ends, we move on to another- this one stolen from <\/a>strange_chan<\/b><\/a><\/span>:


01. Answer each of the questions using the flickr search engine here: flickr.com
02. Choose a photo from the first three pages.
03. Copy the URL of your favorite photos to make a mosaic here: bighugelabs.com\/flickr\/mosaic.php
04. Then share with the world. [SAVE, then upload]

1. First Name
2. Favourite Food
3. Hometown
4. Favourite Colour
5. Celebrity Crush
6. Favourite Drink
7. Dream Holiday
8. Favourite Dessert
9. What I Want To Be When I Grow Up
10. What I Love Most In The World
11. One Word That Describes Me
12. My Nickname


<\/a>

I have gone and seen some movies in the time since I've been away from y'all. Last week I went out to see the latest of the Resident Evil<\/i> films, which continue to be not much more than, \"Let's toss in all the cool shit from the games without explaining most of it\" along with some pretty serviceable action sequences. Mindless fun, if little else.

And last night I had the privilege to attend an advanced screening of Let Me In<\/i>. A decidedly American turn on the Swedish version, this movie left my heart pounding at times and turned it to jelly at others. In other words, Matt Reeves did a near-perfect job adapting the look and feel of the original. If you enjoyed that masterpiece, check this one out.","comments":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/185606.html?view=comments#comments","category":["tv owns my life","at the movies","internet!","me!me!"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/185583.html","pubDate":"Mon, 20 Sep 2010 21:35:37 GMT","title":"Little Monsters","author":"essandem","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/185583.html","description":"First off, I changed my desktop a little while ago, and I happened to notice a theme among my recent choices of backgrounds. See if you can spot the pattern:

\n


<\/a>

<\/div>
<\/td><\/tr><\/table>

And now the second-to-last installment in the beauty meme. Heart-rending casualties have been suffered, but we push on- for science<\/i>:


Hugh Laurie





Robert Downey Jr.





Christina Ricci





Kristen Bell





View Poll: Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Attractiveness, pt. 5<\/a><\/div>
<\/a>

Saw \"The Town\" on Friday. Decent stuff, some contrived interpersonal relationships, but on the whole compelling drama. I wouldn't especially recommend this, but I'll be surprised as all get-out if this doesn't nab a few awards come early next year.

Other than that, weekend was mostly blah, despite parents being out of town. <\/a>lichifruit<\/b><\/a><\/span> and <\/a>sleepfighter<\/b><\/a><\/span> came over Sunday and we watched Gunbuster, which I feel ashamed for not having seen sooner. Fucking amazing on so many levels. Words cannot express my love for Gainax.

And tonight, many TV shows return to me- And nothing else matters.","comments":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/185583.html?view=comments#comments","category":["tv owns my life","at the movies","japanimation","me!me!"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/185271.html","pubDate":"Tue, 14 Sep 2010 08:54:47 GMT","title":"If They Follow You","author":"essandem","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/185271.html","description":"Weekend was p. good. Thursday night, went out with mom to see \"The Kids Are Alright\". Well-written and acted dramedy, but these things always tend to go a bit south in the third act. Still, it's best that I watch as many films as I can with Mark Ruffalo so I can get used to the idea of him as the angry green giant two summers from now.

Saturday brought a barbecue with my best bud Jordan, likely the last time I'll see him for a few weeks since he leaves for Europe on Wednesday. That evening, went out with the 'rents to see this comedian Dylan Moran, a hilarious Irishman seen in films such as \"Shaun of the Dead\" and \"Run, Fatboy, Run\". As my dad said (though in fewer words), a non-American perspective freshens up any creative effort. Such was the case with Mr. Moran, as evidenced by the fact that he actually made my dad laugh, a rare feat.

Sunday was mellow, though it did bring the third season finale of True Blood. One could argue the finale a number of ways- that they did a number of Ass Pulls, twists that were somewhat frustrating and cliffhangers inserted for the sole purpose of bringing viewers back. I could argue until my face turned all the colors of the rainbow, but instead I'll just say this- I loved the shit out of that hour of TV. They've set up a hell of a lot to happen next summer, and I believe it might actually edge into greatness. But time will tell.

Finally, the ever-prolonged meme slouches forward:



Hugh Laurie


Chris Colfer


Robert Downey Jr.



Christina Ricci


Kristen Bell


Thora Birch

View Poll: Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Attractiveness, pt. 4<\/a><\/div>
<\/a>

Oh, yes, and today I had an interview at the San Francisco offices of 1UP.com. It was relaxed and I feel pretty good about the back-and-forth I had with the two young folks that sat me down in their conference room. With any luck, I'll have more good news for y'all in a day or two.","comments":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/185271.html?view=comments#comments","category":["life in general","working hard\/hardly working","tv owns my life","at the movies","my fandom got me high","me!me!"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/184613.html","pubDate":"Sat, 04 Sep 2010 07:40:59 GMT","title":"Made In The Dark","author":"essandem","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/184613.html","description":"All riiight, people actually responded to my attractiveness meme from last time. If you don't remember the rules, take another look<\/a>. After that, I've actually gone to the trouble to insert a poll this time 'round, so get to votin'!


Hugh Laurie

He's a little more rugged than usual in this shot, but it works for him.

Chris Colfer

And he's going to need<\/i> those pads for what I have planned. <3

Keir Gilchrist

This is from a 'hot geeks' blog.

Nicholas Hoult


Robert Downey Jr.

It's really unfair how some guys can just roll out of bed and still look good. *sigh*


Christina Ricci

Few women can rock a short hairstyle and still have my love.

Kristen Bell

Just after Veronica Mars.

Jenna Fischer

I swear, every shot of her is either her as Pam looking unpleasant or smiling for the press. No in-between.

Miracle Laurie

That's<\/i> what I'm talkin' about- happy but not forced.

Thora Birch


View Poll: Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Attractiveness, pt. 2<\/a><\/div>
<\/a>

And finally, back to the music:

Blue Roses, aka songstress Laura Graves, makes gorgeous, intimate songs. Hers is the kind of music that makes one realize that pop is no longer a dirty word. Let her self-titled debut prove my point:
\"Greatest Thoughts\"<\/a>
\"Coast\"<\/a>

Built to Spill's newest album, \"There Is No Enemy\" doesn't do anything groundbreaking. But it takes every trick they've learned with all their time in the biz and rocks like gangbusters:
\"Hindsight\"<\/a>
\"Oh Yeah\"<\/a>

Ani DiFranco's \"Out of Range\" is the usually smattering of angst, gorgeous acoustic guitar riffs and witty lyrics. Go get you some:
\"How Have You Been\"<\/a>
\"Falling Is Like This\"<\/a>
<\/a>

Escaping to <\/a>astrokittie<\/b><\/a><\/span>'s place tomorrow (whilst my parents have a boring party) where I'll be seeing <\/a>zero_jt<\/b><\/a><\/span> and <\/a>aisha_sama<\/b><\/a><\/span> for the first time in a bit. Exciting times.","comments":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/184613.html?view=comments#comments","category":["stuffing my ears","me!me!"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/184367.html","pubDate":"Tue, 31 Aug 2010 08:22:34 GMT","title":"Pretty Things","author":"essandem","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/184367.html","description":"I have gone and stolen a meme which fellow person of class <\/a>astrokittie<\/b><\/a><\/span> posted on her journal. Tweaking this to my whims because my luck with people responding when prompted to do so has been a crapshoot in times past. I was more interested in the aspect of this that lets folks know my tastes, anyhow:

1. I have picked 6 female and 6 male celebs I find attractive.
2. Every day, I will make a poll and you'll have to<\/s> Vote for the one girl and one guy you find the LEAST attractive (not so much who you LIKE, but who you find hot.)
3. After 24 hours, the poll will be closed and<\/s> The man and woman with the most votes will be disqualified. There will then be a new poll (if enough people respond to this) with the remaining contestants.
4. After six days,<\/s>Whenever I feel like it, there will be two winners!<\/i>

In no particular order...

1. Hugh Laurie

He can examine me anytime.

2. Chris Colfer

I think I've spoken of my feelings for my future husband enough that y'all don't need me to gush any further.

3. Edgar Wright

Charm, brains and a cutie to boot- what more could you want?

4. Keir Gilchrist

I wanna hold him and pet him and squeeze him.

5. Nicholas Hoult

Pretty.

6. Robert Downey Jr.

Stay classy, Bobby.
<\/a>


1. Christina Ricci

A little uncanny valley, but I like the shot.

2. Kristen Bell

Not usually a fan of blondes, but she is a welcome exception.

3. Jenna Fischer

Only picture I considered using.

4. Kat Dennings

She's what Meghan Fox might have looked like if she were actually attractive<\/i>.

5. Miracle Laurie

Most aptly named girl I know.

6. Thora Birch

Yum.
<\/a>

Aaaand with all the nothing going on in my life, might as well mention some media that has been taken in... got caught up on the US releases of Berserk. At the rate the story's going, I feel like Miura wants to go for a yarn that might take a good 'nother decade to crank out. And damn if it won't be worth it.

All caught up with Sons of Anarchy. Hot damn am I glad there's only another week until season 3 starts- threw out my original plan of only watching 1 ep a day a couple days ago. Never would have guessed something like this would be so addictive, but damn if this isn't one of the finer programs currently airing. Damn shame no one in Hollywood wants to recognize that.

And today I saw The Other Guys<\/i>- hilarious action flick. Adam McKay and Will Ferrell just need to keep making movies until they're both cranky old men. At which point they should preferably start making movies about cranky old men.","comments":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/184367.html?view=comments#comments","category":["tv owns my life","at the movies","my fandom got me high","japanimation","me!me!"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/184215.html","pubDate":"Thu, 26 Aug 2010 06:27:20 GMT","title":"People Saw It All Over Town","author":"essandem","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/184215.html","description":"First off, forgot to mention that I saw The Expendables. The flick is one unending spectacle, full of Narm and amazing action sequences and I loved every minute of it. Here's hoping when Schwarzenegger finishes up as our governor he comes back for the sequel.

And we're finally back for more music- Comic-Con and other things have kept me from finishing the current batch. With any luck, I can get through the next batch with more expedience:

Red Sparrowes make guitar rock songs that were meant for a film with epic battles on enormous CGI fields or castles with lots of slow-motion shots. It's also possible the songs on \"The Fear Excruciating, But Therein Lies The Answer\" were meant for getting high:
\"A Hail of Bombs\"<\/a>
\"Giving Birth to Imagined Saviors\"<\/a>

Titus Andronicus made a very depressing indie rock album a few years ago. They went and made another one, but \"The Monitor\" has some very catchy singing and guitar-playing, unlike its predecessor:
\"No Future Part Three: Escape From No Future\"<\/a>
\"Four Score and Seven\"<\/a>

Victor Berman's light, jazzy techno album, \"Arriving At Night\", is one of the more chill things I've listened to of late:
\"View Of The Islands\"<\/a>
\"Famous Discussion\"<\/a>
<\/a>

Several things fixin' to occur this weekend, especially with my parents out of town. Notices as events warrant.","comments":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/184215.html?view=comments#comments","category":["stuffing my ears","at the movies"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/183856.html","pubDate":"Wed, 18 Aug 2010 07:19:04 GMT","title":"Dragging Behind Him A Sack of Chains","author":"essandem","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/183856.html","description":"Ladies and Gentlemen, I want to talk to all of you about a man that has been pervading my thoughts of late.
\n
A sales<\/i> man.<\/s> Nicholas Edward Cave.


<\/div>


This guy.<\/font>

<\/div><\/td>\n\n


<\/div>


Yep, him too.<\/font>

<\/div><\/td>\n\n


<\/div>


I think they get it.<\/font>

<\/div><\/td><\/tr><\/table>

Nick Cave has been making music since 1976, at first with a group by the name of The Birthday Party, but most agree that he only came into his own when he formed Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. As always, someone else can express my feelings on this matter better than I ever could- Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Steve Huey of allmusic wrote that, \"With the Bad Seeds, Cave continued to explore his obsessions with religion, death, love, America, and violence with a bizarre, sometimes self-consciously eclectic hybrid of blues, gospel, rock, and arty post-punk, although in a more subdued fashion than his work with the Birthday Party\". My only beef with the wording there is that bizarre fits Cave like a wetsuit; and if he's ever self-conscious, it's only so he can poke fun at the the conventions of the genres others label him as. And if that's not enough to pique your interest, I will let the work speak for itself, as someone I used to know liked to say:


\"There She Goes, My Beautiful World\"<\/a>
\"People Ain't No Good\"<\/a>
\"We Call Upon The Author\"<\/a>
\"In The Ghetto\"<\/a>
\"The Lyre of Orpheus\"<\/a>
\"Slowly Goes The Night\"<\/a>


<\/a>

And while I'm speaking on media that's knocking around my head these days, let me tell you about a show by the name of Sons of Anarchy- another amazing show from one of the top 3 in cable programming, FX. When I first heard about SoA, my initial reaction was one of mild interest- motorcycle clubs, though an untapped creative vein, didn't seem like something I'd get drawn into. Boy howdy, was I wrong. This show is the mafia with social politics and some Shakespeare thrown in for good measure. Ron Perlman, Katey Segal and Charlie Hunnam are standouts in a cast that manages to turn out utterly captivating performances week after week. And any show that takes a character that makes me damn near pop a vein in my neck and gives them the ending that makes me squeal with delight always deserves a write-up in this forum.<\/a>

Bro's in town for a few days. Much food and merriment will be had<\/div><\/div><\/div>","comments":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/183856.html?view=comments#comments","category":["stuffing my ears","duct tape","picspam","tv owns my life","my fandom got me high"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/183762.html","pubDate":"Thu, 05 Aug 2010 06:58:59 GMT","title":"FUCK YEAH, PROP 8 OVERTURNED","author":"essandem","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/183762.html","description":"Let's start with the many comics I've read since I put down Scott Pilgrim's Finest Hour...


Jeffrey Rowland is a genius. This is not a term I use lightly, nor one I would think the man would ever self-apply. I consider him such not necessarily because he has a towering intellect- though it is no doubt above that of the majority of people (not that that's saying much...)- but because he thinks and conveys his thoughts in a way that sets himself apart from so many others. He talks about the real world often, but he integrates an imagined version of his own life into the work in such a seamless fashion, which speaks volumes to how he looks at our world. And when when we're allowed to see his thoughts on his work in \"A Dangerous Obsession\", we see an entirely different side of him- at times serious and thought-provoking, but never preachy or plodding in his storytelling. And that's the biggest achievement of this book. He tells a story, using the style we've known for years<\/a>. I can't wait for the next chapter- I just hope it's part of the same novel.
<\/a>


Considering how amazing the first hardcover of UFF was, I went into the second volume with a mix of excitement and trepidation. I get the feeling the first volume isn't ever going to get topped in any future volume, but for superhero fare, the Four (and most of what I've read coming out of the Ultimate universe) do a damn fine job of keeping the bar raised high for other books. In a way they do cheat, what with having years of material to cull from... But hey, good art imitates, great art steals.
<\/a>


The second Avengers series to be written by Brian Bendis post-Disassembled, The Mighty Avengers sees Tony Stark forming his own Avengers team in the wake of Civil War as the anti-registration New Avengers continue to pursue street-level justice. I had already picked up the second hardcover collection a few months earlier, so the first one was at the top of my list of books to buy when I went to SDCC. The first story arc alone<\/i> involves Tony Stark being turned into Ultron as a hot chick and the god of war getting in a fight with a Starktech suit. The rest of the first volume is at least as awesome as that. Unfortunately, the issues in the second hardcover- mostly a Secret Invasion tie-in- that don't deal with the formation of Nick Fury's Secret Warriors (which seemed a tad out of place in an Avengers book, but then any superhero book with Bendis' name on it gives him carte blanche to date himself) tell tales of various Skrulls and how they gathered information and infiltrated our governments. It's not bad by any standard, but I would have much rather seen how the invasion affected the Avengers rather than how the Skrulls got there in the first place. They can shape-shift<\/i>. It's not that hard to imagine how they snuck in. Overall though, another great read from BMB.
<\/a>


I had already indulged in the first two volumes of the adventures of the Merc with a Mouth and Mr. Messiah wannabe, but seeing as how the 8 trades comprising the run of Cable & Deadpool were going out of print at a steady rate and the three ultimate collections were looking mighty pretty... what with their thick spines and high page count. *snaps out of it* Anyhoo, the last story arc in the book deals with Deadpool accidentally killing a middle eastern dude and then going dimension-hopping to look for Cable- something that apparently happened in a long<\/i>-since out-of-print and very short-lived X-Force and Cable series which I'm not going to bother looking for. The book remains as witty as it ever was, and it manages to advance the stories of its main characters while making fun of everything else that's happening in the Marvel U and utilizing characters you were almost entirely certain were dead at least a year ago.
<\/a>

As a quick aside, I was just skimming the Scott Pilgrim TVTropes page<\/a> (enormous<\/b> spoilers within, btw) and it is very clear that there were Tropers in the audience at SDCC taking notes.

Moving on, recent films!

I saw Salt<\/i> late last week, and it played like a female version of the Wolverine movie- even had Liev Schreiber! It was a solid action\/political thriller, and I'm hoping they make at least one sequel- if only because strong female leads in action movies are in short supply and it would be just the boost the Ghost in the Shell live-action movie needs to get greenlit.

And on Sunday I trekked out to Cupertino and saw Despicable Me<\/i> with <\/a>yuan_18<\/b><\/a><\/span>. I had heard a lot of good things about this, and I was not disappointed. The animation is great (didn't see it in 3D, though I saw a lot of bits where it was obvious they were shooting for that) and the characters are utterly lovable- check it out if you haven't already!","comments":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/183762.html?view=comments#comments","category":["at the movies","internet!","my fandom got me high","hittin' the comic stand","i buy too much crap"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/183130.html","pubDate":"Tue, 20 Jul 2010 07:14:23 GMT","title":"It's Only Small Enough For Me","author":"essandem","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/183130.html","description":"Hello friends! It has been some time, I know, but I've been doing a good number of things. First of all working<\/i>- for money for once, even if it is just helping out my dad so I can have a little extra cash for Comic-Con. And as usual, I've seen some good movies...


Actually got my parents to come out to see Exit Through The Gift Shop<\/i> last weekend- an indie documentary done by an anonymous English street artist by the name of Banksy, it tells the tale of a man that filmed everything he could at all times, and stumbled upon the story of a community of street artists working underground (not literally, of course). It's a biting, brilliant commentary on the nature of art and what it really means to make or produce it.

The next night I went out with my buds Jordan and Zander to see Predators<\/i>. For an actioner in a franchise that's had little success duplicating what made the original as good as it was, this was a gem. I knew most of the actors- I'm speaking of course about the ones whose names everyone doesn't already know- from various projects, so it had a leg up on getting me to like it from the word go. It starts off a little slow, but it gets off to a running start after a bit. Fingers crossed the same folks involved return for more. They'd have my ass in a seat.

And this past weekend, I saw <\/a>cacophonyblood<\/b><\/a><\/span> for the first time in six months, so of course I had to take her out on the town- and by that I mean buy her movie tickets. We started Sunday morning with a matinee showing of The Sorcerer's Apprentice<\/i>. I'm not even going to try<\/i> to be original in my wording, because the fact is, this movie was magical. Not consistently, but damn close enough to it that I had a hell of a time watching. The heart is there and the action sequences are breathtaking to behold. And Alfred Molina can make anything more awesome just by being in it these days.

That night, Jordan and Zander joined the two of us for Inception<\/i>. When I first saw The Dark Knight<\/i>, I walked out of the theater knowing that I had seen something amazing, but my brain was unable to fully comprehend that a movie so captivating and brilliant had been made. So it is with this. Nolan has once again produced a sublime piece of art that will endure for generations to come, if not longer. If you haven't already, see this now<\/i>
<\/a>

Other than that, I caught Jessica up on United States of Tara and the various boring goings-on of my life. A good time was had and I hope to see her again soon.

I've been slowly going through the stack of manga I picked up at Fanime and am almost done with the first four volumes of Gintama. I had briefly watched the anime a few years back and am just now getting back into it. The way the author lets his humor shine through while still being able to maintain a dramatic narrative from time to time is wondrous. I eagerly await later volumes when actual plot begins to emerge.

On Wednesday morning, I leave on a journey with <\/a>toggy<\/b><\/a><\/span>, <\/a>kiraqueen<\/b><\/a><\/a>joeshadows<\/b><\/a><\/span>. It is appropriate that we are bound for the nether regions of our fine state, because what we will arrive to will be no less than a 4-day geekgasm. Expect a full report and list of the myriad crap I will doubtless purchase upon my return- Excelsior!","comments":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/183130.html?view=comments#comments","category":["the con of all cons","at the movies","my fandom got me high","japanimation","hittin' the comic stand","i buy too much crap"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/182703.html","pubDate":"Fri, 09 Jul 2010 06:15:19 GMT","title":"To Cease on a Reason for this Mad, Mad Season","author":"essandem","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/182703.html","description":"I was going to go on for a little bit about the Mehserle trial, but you don't need someone else going on about this insanity, so I'll just say that I was somewhat affected- they had us evacuate at the Oakland museum before the verdict came down- and that things like this are one of the few events that truly scare me.

Went and saw Cyrus<\/i> the other day. It's refreshing, and I mean this in all seriousness, that there are films now that aren't filled to the brim with people that are overly made up and ridiculously attractive. That said, it's also a great flick, chock full of fucked up people in dire need of a hug. Check it out if you want to be assured that there are worse relationships than the ones you've been in- and that even the bad ones aren't without a glimmer of hope.

And now a little something to brighten up this day:

Robert Wyatt<\/a> appears to be the musical counterpart to Alan Moore. Musically, he leans toward an experimental sound- some rock, some jazz, and some stuff that just doesn't want to be pinned down. Observe the hodgepodge that is \"Rock Bottom\":
\"Sea Song\"<\/a>
\"Little Red Robin Hood Hit the Road\"<\/a>

Nick Cave and his Bad Seeds remain a somewhat softer version of Tom Waits. Despite their songs being about things like the electric chair, Satan and respite from torture, they manage to deliver the message in such a way that the words caress rather than attack. Appropriate for an album titled \"Tender Prey\":
\"Up Jumped The Devil\"<\/a>
\"The Mercy Seat (Video Mix)\"<\/a>

Clearlake is one o' them indie rock bands. Their songs use words combined with melodies so infectious they can infect any nation except Madagascar<\/s>. There are certain songs on \"Cedars\" that no human being can resist. I think these are among them:
\"Wonder If The Snow Will Settle\"<\/a>
\"Just Off The Coast\"<\/a>

While they occasionally have some good opinions on music, Pitchfork is dead wrong about Elvis Costello's \"Cruel Smile\". What it is is a remix\/outtake album using tracks from the earlier \"When I Was Cruel\". There are some real gems among this CD, chief among them a spectacular cover of Charlie Chaplin's \"Smile\". Checkitoutcheckitoutcheckitoutcheckitout:
\"Smile\"<\/a>
\"When I Was Cruel No. 1\"<\/a>
<\/a>

And to conclude I want to mention to awesome, batshit insane comics that came out today- Casanova and Scarlet. These are written by two of the best men in the biz; Matt Fraction and Brian Michael Bendis. To go into detail would veer into spoiler territory quite quickly, so I'll just say that the dialogue is awesome and the characters supremely memorable. Check 'em out.","comments":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/182703.html?view=comments#comments","category":["stuffing my ears","working hard\/hardly working","at the movies","hittin' the comic stand","fuck this shit"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/182319.html","pubDate":"Tue, 06 Jul 2010 05:33:01 GMT","title":"Whatever It Is That Normal Kids Get To Think About","author":"essandem","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/182319.html","description":"Well, there went June.

Been up to even less than usual. Besides the job hunt and work, really not much happening. I finished some noteworthy anime recently, so I thought I'd tell y'all about that:


Arakawa Under The Bridge was a hilarious series from the always-delightful direction of Akiyuki Shinbo and SHAFT Studios. If you're not familiar, it's about an office worker whose life is saved by a strange girl living under the Arakawa bridge. Having been raised all his life to never be indebted to anyone for anything, he becomes her lover, though not quite in the traditional sense. His life under the bridge leads him to meet other similarly strange individuals, such as a cross-dressing former soldier, two children convinced they're robots and the mayor of this makeshift village- a guy in a kappa costume. The show is hilarious, pretty, and the manga upon which it is based was conceived by the same crazy mind behind Saint Young Men.

Yojouhan Shinwa Taikei (literally \"A Compendium of 4.5 Tatami Mythology\") or \"The Tatami Galaxy\" as Funimation chose to release it when they streamed it, was tied with Durarara!! (also awesome) for the best show of spring season, in my mind. It is about a college student with no name who is informed by a god of matrimony that other such gods will be meeting to decide if the apple of his eye, Akashi, will marry him or his best friend<\/s> sworn enemy, Ozu. The series follows our protagonist as he is forced to go through his first two years of college again and again, making different choices every time that lead him down different roads. This show is gorgeous on so many levels- dialogue, art, plot, music- I just can't say enough about how deeply this show touched me.

Lastly we have House of Five Leaves. This was an odd one.It's about a Ronin that joins a... club? Secret society? IDK. I couldn't really get what this show was supposed to be about, plot-wise, and my mind wandered whenever I watched an episode to the point that I only got the barest idea of what I was watching. And yet that didn't stop me from going through all twelve episodes of it. The music is great and the art is gawjus. Sometimes a show has enough going for it in the tone department that the other stuff doesn't matter.
<\/a>

I also listened to a bunch of music. Here is some of it:

Thao Nguyen (who now plays with a band called The Get Down Stay Down) is an alt-folk-rock act that enjoys her acoustic guitar and singing about things that make you feel relaxed. \"Like The Linen\" is quite the appropriate title:
\"Gorgeous Things\"<\/a>
\"Chivalry\"<\/a>

The Avett Bros. specialize in love. If there were ever a more appropriate application of the TVTropes Trope \"In Love With Love\", I don't know what it is. \"Emotionalism\" is a love that one would be glad to be a part of, but even watching warms the heart:
\"Paranoia in B-Flat Major\"<\/a>
\"All My Mistakes\"<\/a>

Defiance, Ohio is a group that seems dissatisfied with where they're at in life. They worry that they're too emotionally fucked up to make real connections and are just anxious in general, it seems. And yet \"The Fear, The Fear, The Fear\" is not a downer of a punk rock record by any standard. They see the darkness, and they laugh at it. Laugh along with them:
\"The Things We Won't Let Settle But Let Set\"<\/a>
\"Oh, Cheri\"<\/a>

The Tough Alliance is a dance act that lifts my soul up every time I hear them. They have energy in spades and have the talent to put that into their beats on \"A New Chance\":
\"First Class Riot\"<\/a>
\"A New Chance\"<\/a>
<\/a>

A few weeks ago I found out about The Voice Project<\/a>- one of the many things I've stumbled upon via the magic of Twitter. This site is dedicated to helping spread peace in Uganda by getting people to donate when they get singers to do cover songs. Some of the stuff on the site is just pure beauty. I've ripped a few of the videos to MP3, and if you find something that catches your fancy, I encourage you to do the same and donate if you're able.

And finally, today I saw Winter's Bone<\/i> a mystery\/suspense piece of sorts set in the south. This movie reminded me a lot of the Millennium books, which I am just about 2\/3rds of the way through. Smart female heroine, intriguing mystery, but all with a southern twist. It's a gripping tale of a life harder than most of us have ever or will ever know. Check it out if it's in a theater near you.","comments":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/182319.html?view=comments#comments","category":["stuffing my ears","at the movies","internet!","my fandom got me high","japanimation"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/182026.html","pubDate":"Tue, 22 Jun 2010 08:40:34 GMT","title":"Wind Me Up","author":"essandem","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/182026.html","description":"This past week was good- highlights include picking up the Ultimate X-Men year 3 tpb on the cheap... again. (It was one of the items taken from me after WonderCon.) Finished reading it today. Decent stuff, but it feels like Millar was never meant to stay on a superhero book for an extended period. I'm excited to see where Bendis takes it... whenever they do get around to releasing the next paperback.

Also finished Tezuka's \"MW\" last week. For those that don't know, it's about a priest and a young boy whose nature is twisted when he's exposed to an accidental mass killing. The strength of the man is in his ability to keep you turning the page. It's impossible to not want to know what happens next, and that's what makes him a master. He's also exhibited some great storytelling ability, though there are plenty of other stories of his that are better examples of that side of him.

Saturday, drove out to <\/a>joeshadows<\/b><\/a><\/span>' place for a late birthday celebration after picking up <\/a>toggy<\/b><\/a><\/span>. Despite getting there 90 minutes after we had been entreated to arrive, we were still the first ones there. We started out the evening watching some of The Man With The Screaming Brain<\/i>, but got bored with that soon enough. We switched over to the hilarious Blades of Glory<\/i>, which, besides being very funny, featured Jenna Fischer- Pam of \"The Office\" fame- in outfits that had my eyes and jaw doing things previously thought impossible unless one were a cartoon character. We drudged through the final pre-Nolan Batman film before coming to the crown jewel of the evening: MACHINE GIRL<\/i>. Having looked up info on the director of this fine film, I found out that he got his start doing porn... a lot of porn. The movie has also achieved cult status as a comedy in the states. Neither of these revelations surprises me in the least. It's an exploitation film whether he meant it to be or not- in budget, dialogue, weapons... and it either comes off as badass, narmy or hilarious depending on the situation. If you don't mind a lot<\/i> of gore, I highly recommend this one.<\/a>

And I got back from seeing Toy Story 3 a little while ago. The hilarity and childish joy this film has given me have already been aptly expressed in every critical piece I've seen on it. If you haven't gotten out to take in the pure love that is the latest in Pixar's continued streak of winners, go forth and bask.

Still waiting to hear from the Oakland Museum about that job. Reject the other candidates faster, dangit!","comments":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/182026.html?view=comments#comments","category":["at the movies","my fandom got me high","japanimation","hittin' the comic stand","i buy too much crap"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/181862.html","pubDate":"Wed, 16 Jun 2010 19:35:15 GMT","title":"They Call Me Sonic","author":"essandem","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/181862.html","description":"Posting this everywhere I can because this game looks like the return to form for the blue hedgehog that fans have been wanting for years:

Video Games<\/a> | Sonic Colors<\/a> | E3 2010: Tropical Resort Gameplay (Cam)<\/a><\/div>
XBox 360<\/a> | Playstation 3<\/a> | Nintendo Wii<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div>

So this comes out sometime in Q4 2010... as does Tron: Legacy, True Grit, The Force Unleashed II... WHY CAN'T IT JUST BE DECEMBER ALREADY?!","comments":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/181862.html?view=comments#comments","category":["my fandom got me high","games of the video variety"]},{"guid":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/181593.html","pubDate":"Tue, 15 Jun 2010 05:40:01 GMT","title":"While I Burst Into Flames","author":"essandem","link":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/181593.html","description":"L.A. was amazing. Short but so sweet I'm surprised I don't have diabetes.

Friday morning saw the usual amount of stress hanging in the air as we scrambled to get to the airport. I had the brilliant idea of bringing along my Mac Mini and monitor for various reasons... And it was entirely worth it- knowing the stress it put us through now, I would do it again with no hesitation. But read on, and judge for yourself if I was pushing the envelope or simply carrying out a poorly thought-out, haphazard plan. After arriving in SoCal, we picked up our car and my parents and godparents dropped me off at Casa McKaie. <\/a>poiuppx<\/b><\/a><\/span> and his wonderful mother were waiting for me, and I reveled in their amazement at my lack of a ponytail. After getting my luggage sorted, Alex and I drove to The Bridge- an outdoor mall where we had Japanese for lunch, followed by The A-Team<\/i>. This film was a decent premise taken to the most ridiculous and over-the-top you could have it at while still managing to have anyone take it seriously. The characters were instantly likable, the action was great, and it was just plain fun<\/i> Check it out, it's a good time. After this, we hung around the mall a bit longer, checking out an interesting joint on the lower level that rents time for people to play console games. We played some Brawl for a bit, Alex managing to hold his own quite well against me. We headed back to his place for a scrumptious dinner his mom, Ria, had been working on- steak, lightly buttered green beans and bowtie noodles with melted cheese. We talked about my quirks and tics, movies- the conversation flowed as readily as the Cherry Pepsi from Alex's cans. After we cleared the table, I spent the rest of the evening catching Alex up on The Venture Bros.- the latter half of season 3 and all of season 4 thus far.<\/a>


Saturday, we watched a bit of the USA\/England World Cup match, which was good stuff but the real entertainment came from the Twitter commentary. If you get a chance, I highly recommend checking out some of the gems that came from Warren Ellis and Wil Wheaton. Whilst the game ran its course and I conversed with Ria, Alex steamrolled through the comics I'd brought him: S.H.I.E.L.D., all the new Avengers books that are out at the moment, Thunderbolts- the best of Heroic Age, in a nutshell. It was my great pleasure to show him that Marvel still has plenty to offer that's no longer grim and dour. After that, I queued up one more 2-hour long moment of awesome- Rebuild of Evangelion 2.22. It was my second full viewing, and I reveled in seeing Alex's reaction to these old actions made new, to the gut-wrenching moments made even worse, and to the theories we rattled off for over an hour during lunch at Hurry Curry (something of a staple of mine when I make a visit to his neck of the woods). This, one of the things I was more eager to get to watch with him and his mom, was not one of the things I needed my monitor to show them. Turns out Alex doesn't know what the connector that goes from a desktop computer to a monitor looks like- long story short, we got to watch it on their 40-inch TV. It made the experience all the more engrossing. After lunch, Alex and I hit up his former place of business, Record Surplus. Picked up the second season of Arrested Development, Lily Allen's first album and the Hellboy animated double-feature Blu-Ray of Sword of Storms and Blood & Iron- all for $32. Lovely establishment. That evening saw a dinner with the family at Stefan's at L.A. Farms. If you're ever in the greater L.A.\/Santa Monica area, I highly recommend this joint. It's a little dimly lit, but the food's top-notch and the desserts are heavenly. I got as drunk as I am able- partially due to an offhand comment by my mother early in the evening getting Alex into \"THIS MUST HAPPEN\" mode- and had a great chat with Zander, Jordan and my bro, who is presently sporting my hair circa high school. That evening, Alex and I plowed through the first 8 episodes of Bakemonogatari, which I was happy to see he enjoyed.<\/a>

We finished up the TV run of Bakemonogatari Sunday morning. The best thing he said about the show was that it put him into a creative mode. Alex generously allowed me to borrow his copies of The Force Unleashed and Haze, much to my delight. Happy with the knowledge that I'd inspired my dear friend, I left the warm southern regions.

True Blood was back last night. I enjoyed the return for a number of reasons, though when my father told me this evening at dinner that he greatly enjoyed it as well, that took it to another level. As you know Bob<\/s>, whenever any friend of mine enjoys a show I watch, it gives me even more joy to take it in. But when my father- a man that rarely intakes any screen-based media- gets into something... that's not something I can put into words.

Throwin' my hat in the ring for an opening at ye olde Oakland Museum of California. May be a long shot, but hell if I won't give it my damndest.","comments":"https:\/\/essandem.livejournal.com\/181593.html?view=comments#comments","category":["duct tape","working hard\/hardly working","tv owns my life","at the movies","hittin' the comic stand","japanimation","my fandom got me high","i buy too much crap"]}]}}