3 posts tagged “secret garden”
I just got back from Kyoto a week ago. Yes, it was spectacular, thanks.
No travel-blog on the way yet, but the idea is filed away somewhere in
my brain for a more focused and collected time (if they exist). However,
Secret Garden is going to see some major changes. Or has seem them.
I decided that Vox was just about as much as I could handle before therapy
kicked in, so this week we're seeing the debut of Secret Garden at wordpress.com.
The reaction I get is "been there, done that" about wordpress, but honestly,
I don't see why they're complaining. Wordpress has a much more sophisticated
and independently-controlled set-up with a lot more options (can anyone say
'draft save'?). I tried E Blogger and couldn't imagine having exactly the same
theme as the rest of the world (one decent one out of 5. Not many options.)
The one thing I do appreciate about Vox, though, is the neighborhood set-up.
And of course, I have my roots here. On that note,Secret Garden will remain open
and, I imagine, active on Vox. Probably a lot of the posts here on Vox will appear,
remastered so to speak, on wordpress eventually.
I hope you'll check out my new spot! Thanks for reading Secret Garden-- and I'll get back
to reviews soon! (I bought excessive quantities of CDs in Japan, so there's material
just waiting for inspiration to strike and splice and merge and make.)
Gacktpause
Namely, I wanted to talk about something that
isn't music, haha. (But inevitably I will talk about
music here as well, gyah!)
I finally got to read some manga the other day T__T
(tears of joy), which is great because I never get to read
any manga! (at 8.99$ a VOLUME I seriously cannot afford
that kind of hobby, and unfortunately I don't have any friends
with extensive manga libraries.)
I found the first 2 copies of Yazawa Ai's masterpiece, NANA at the
library of all places. I took them both out...and read them all in the
same day (I try and force myself to use self-control and moderation
when reading manga. Unfortunately it takes me a little over an hour
per volume, so they don't last me very long. I haven't gotten to the
point yet where I can read a chapter and then set the thing down.)
They were so good T__T! I then did something very bad and went
to the bookstore, grabbed volume 3, cranked up my iPod and found
a seat in the window....And read the whole thing. Unfortunately
for me, they only let you do that until about Volume 5, and then
everything after that is shrink-wrapped....At that point they'd kinda notice
if you were reading them in the store, hah...hah.
Why is the whole world so stupid that nobody has invented a MANGA LIBRARY
yet? The manga section at the bookstore is populated with delinquents such as myself
who can't afford these massive 34 volume sets at 8.99$ a piece! Ridiculous.
At least it means I still have a life, though. I mean, if there was a
whole library full of manga....that could mean me spending 8 or 10 hours a DAY
in some library chair reading whole series at a time.
(and then forget those lame ideas such as moderation and self-control).
As far as my manga ambitions go, I'm really really interested in reading Re:Play. It's a series
by an American author, but her art rocks...and the storyline is about....a rock band. I read
the first chapter of Volume 1 in Anime Insider, or whatever magazine it was in...can't remember.
(here we go-- music, I just can't resist)....
I've also resurrected my suffering iPod, which has been a debauched
and miserable slew of bad music since I started working. (Due to my
spiritual connection with Jrock, it's not allowed on work-premises...and because
of my fetishistic approach to Jrock, you can understand the trauma I may have
experienced).
I purchased An Cafe's Goku-tama Rock Cafe CD, and Ayabie's Rikkaboshi +A.
Pretty decent. I didn't even know who Ayabie was until recently. I mean, obviously
I liked them enough to buy the CD, but it takes a few listen-tos before you
start to get to know a band.
By the way, here's a great tip for discovering new music: publications like Gothic and Lolita Bible. They have pictures of harajuku and Lolita kids in Japan, and one of the questions they ask is "Favorite band". This is how I learned about Cascade and Ayabie. I think there are a few websites that feature different Fruits-esque shoots and details...If I find them, I'll put them up for your viewing pleasure and convenience!
