Engines, weapons, navigation, communications: check. Systems all green. THAT is cleared for takeoff!

Dear Friends and Readers,

After much deliberation and hard work, THAT has now moved to our own domain! From now on, join us at www.THATanimeblog.com

We’re all looking forward to having our new site operational and having you join us there. Our own domain will allow us to have more control over the technical details of our site and better serve our readers. Please update any feeds or bookmarks you may have. This AB.net site will be staying up to redirect our readers to the new one, but all new content will be on the new site. We would like to thank the AB.net crew for the home they’ve given us since we started out and we wish them and the AB.net community the best.

Additionally, the excellent and difficult work done by those who helped set up our new site must be acknowledged. Many thanks to Crusader for securing the new address, to Kabitzin from Sea Slugs Team and our own Mabdese for their work in setting up the layout and importing files, and to mercenary computer security engineer extraordinaire Agruktos for getting down into the messy, buggy depths of such a complicated undertaking and managing to resolve our most persistent issues. The journey was long and arduous, and much more technically infuriating complicated than we first suspected, but now finally it is done. In the next few days some minor tweaks will be done to the new site, but these do not relate to the main functioning or appearance of the site. Starting tomorrow I (EO) will be remaking all the ‘premium subscriber’ logins for our friends who use them, so please be patient if you regularly use one. And please let us know if you encounter any technical problems, we’ve had so many it’s hard to believe that there isn’t one last gremlin lurking somewhere. Thank you for reading THAT, and we look forward to seeing you at our new home.

The THAT team moves our precious squid plushy and other materials over to the new site.

We are Oscar Mike! Stay frosty.

Unlike that honor these do not require a beheading…

With the passing of 2009 we thought that it was time to recognize those who showed individual competence during the course of the year. While it is the habit of many to judge series here we prefer to recognize the characters that made their shows a little bit better even as their series was weighted down by anchors that exceed the weight of Big Zam. While there are many who are worthy we decided to only bestow honors to those who gallantry we have borne witness to so while air dates may vary, they are just as deserving if not more so than some of the scum that crept forth from the dirt this year. After much deliberation and table pounding we have finalized the list for those exceptional few who made 2009 so much more bearable and outright enjoyable. These are but the first in a long list of names that have scrawled their names upon the pages of history with the blood of their enemies.

The Reinhard/Yang Wen-li Distinguished Service Cross

Origins: While Yang Wen-li and Reinhard have long since passed from this world there is still a need to give due recognition to exceptional commanders who rise above their respective series and demonstrate a superior grasp of strategy, operational art, and tactics that would have both Yang and Reinhard eager to recruit them into their personal staffs. Thus was created this award in the 35th Century (1982) to honor superb commanders of formations large and small who display tactical skill and outstanding leadership in times of great crisis.

Brigadier General Katie Colasour – To put it simply Katie was in the wrong series, at the wrong time, and on the fated to lose side. Surely she deserved better than to have her plans thwarted by pixie dust and havoc physics, but at least while she had screen time it felt like it was almost Macross with Patrick trying to show his undying love for her. Unlike most of the cast she had a fully functioning mind in stark contrast to her closest rival who was getting drunk and was refusing to put out for the booze she got. Still, for winning out in the end in life Katie is here by awarded the Reinhard/Yang Wen-li Distinguished Service Cross for conspicuous gallantry in the face of a plot armored foe, and for refusing to surrender in the face of unbeatable odds or worse join them in a idiotic Three Ships Alliance or something to that effect. She demonstrated competent tactical thinking despite having technical inferiority that only grew more disparate with time and managed her men well, under the most horrid of story conditions considering she was saddled with Andrei. On the behalf of mein Kaiser Reinhard-sama and The Honorable Fleet Admiral Wen-li have a wonderful honeymoon, General.

Lt. Arleen Nazon – Having been betrayed by the man who supposedly loved her Nazon was condemned as a criminal for the deed of one dirty Zeke. In her quest for revenge she turned her understrength platoon from a few mechanics to top class pilots that helped make Operation Odessa a resounding success. While often the first to be sent in as cannon fodder they adapted well under the command of Major “Giggles” Colmatta whose leadership is rather suspect. Having accepted that death was a distinct possibility she turned herself and her mild mannered mechanics into berserkers with exceptional cunning that got the better of many a Zeke. While the Zekes already had the data from her beloved RTX-440 that did not deter her in the least as she punched a hole right through Zeke lines to wreak havoc upon their artillery. For demonstrating superior leadership in leading her RTX-440 platoon under the most dire of combat conditions during Operation Odessa and having destroyed 13 Zakus,  6 Magella Attack Tanks, countless Zeke infantry, two Doms, one Gouf, and two Dabudes. Sadly this honor is a posthumous one as Arleen did not live to see the end of the war though her sacrifice and that of her unit resulted in a significant loss of Zeke heavy equipment and personnel.

Grand Duke Jouslain Tytania – The clear successor for the title of Grand Duke of the House of Tytania. Gifted diplomat, generous and kind leader to his fellows, and most dangerous enemy to his foes. He began his rise to distinction with swift political action to end the crisis caused by Ariabart’s unexpected defeat by rebels. Continuing on, he incorporated brilliant minds that were dismissed by his peers into a tight knit group that could act in all manners necessary to the conduct of politics and war. Lord Ariabart, a solid commander that was sneered at by his rivals for one unforeseeable defeat; Princess Lydia, viewed by others as merely a hostage to ensure her planet’s loyalty, but in fact a valuable social asset; and Lord Bal’ami, the son of a traitor who was held in the same contempt as his father by others was turned into a valued source of ideas and shows promise as a future commander and leader. All were brought under Lord Jouslain’s influence and protection, showing his vain and impulsive rivals that it takes a team to run an empire, not just a leader.

Oberstein Order of the Velvet Glove

Origins: Created to honor all those who work indirectly, get inside the heads of their enemies, and manipulate friends and foes alike for the greater good. These skilled men and women often go unrecognized by the nature of their work, but they are often of the highest importance to their causes, whether it be galactic empire management, yuri shipping, pursuit of True Love and Friendship, or many other worthy causes.

Tsumugi – Sometimes your own side needs a little manipulation to make the most of things, and Tsumugi used her gentle facade of an oujousama to quietly steer her friends towards The Yuri. Skillful and elegant, Tsumugi secretly worked to optimize the Light Music Club without ever betraying her intent. Innocent comments such as ‘I think that’s alright’ were used to take conversations in a definite shipping direction without suggesting Tsumugi as the initiator of such thoughts. And her ability to call upon vast resources helped bring the club together and provide them with the training-vacation time necessary to BE FRIENDLY. An outstanding manipulator and schemer if there ever was one, leading to her deserved nickname ‘the Machiavelli of Moe.’

Ayane Yano – One of the best analysists in modern shoujo intelligence, Ayane is currently leading a team that has scored several successes against Ume Kurumizawa and her war on True Love and Friendship. While Sawako is out on the front lines and Chizu itches to escalate the conflict, Yano has quietly worked behind the scenes supporting the effort. She was the first among personnel in the field to warn of the threat posed by the evil Vichy-tan, and the first to take action. Adept at gathering HUMINT, she scoured the area for both friendly and hostile witnesses to Kurumi’s actions to piece together a complete picture of her methods of attack. Her recent actions including [SPECIFICS REDACTED DUE TO SENSITIVE NATURE OF ONGOING OPERATIONS] have earned her this commendation and our gratitude.

Kana Minami – Good supervisors are just as invaluable as the higher profile field agents and analysts, and Kana Minami has demonstrated great skill in managing several covert operations. The continuing Operation Mako-Cakes has been her responsibility since its inception, and she has also overseen liaison efforts with Fujioka and Tomo as well as numerous shorter duration operations and actions during her years of service. To this day Operation Mako-cakes continues with its cover intact, despite extremely difficult situations that would have compromised Makoto’s identity many times over if it had not been for her quick thinking and intimate knowledge of those she handles.

Baron Ashura – Despite being the butt of a long string of jokes Baron Ashura nevertheless got the last laugh with a single act of subtle treachery that led to the demise of Dr. Hell and made all the efforts of the titular heroes all for naught. Baron Ashura was never the strongest and despite numerous attempts at defeating Mazinger Z he inevitably failed each and every time. He was made into a traitor to his own people by Dr. Hell but his love for Mycenae was so deep that he endured every disgrace and beating just to fool his enemies into underestimating him. He fooled the smartest woman in all of Mazinger Z into taking him in and deceived Koji into thinking that he was an ally while he waited for the time to strike back decisively. Baron Ashura not only made up for his past treachery but also brought about an invasion to avenge the loss of Mycenae when the heroes thought that they had finally triumphed. For treacherously ensuring that there will be a sequel, the person we least suspected, Baron Ashura, is hereby awarded the Velvet Glove for manipulating the heroes into destroying all that Zeus had fought and died for.

Roy Focker Cross

Origins: Following the heroic sacrifice of Roy Focker in defense of the SDF Macross on 30 November 2009, UN high command designed and began to award the Roy Focker Cross for service and sacrifice. Sometimes the cause of righteousness must be watered by the blood of brave men and women, and their supreme sacrifices are honored by this most somber of awards.

Prince Ali al-Sarshes – An ace pilot who also took the initiative in rallying forces to fight the terrorist group Celestial Being for many years, he made the ultimate sacrifice for the U.N. during the final battle of the war. He served when called in the service of several of the pre-Federation armies, both in and out of uniform, was instrumental in the destruction of 2/3 of the Gundam Throne forces, and without hesitation joined the forces of the Federation and A-LAWS when they were created. While stalking known Irish Republican Army terrorist Lyle ‘Lockon Stratos’ Dylandy, Ali al-Sarshes was killed by a chance shot, no man ever able to best him in honorable combat. Despite Celestial Being remnant claims to the contrary, his fatal wounds did not match the weapons signatures of any CB weapon used by Dylandy. He is survived by his sister Alphard al-Sarshes.

Kikiyo – A unit commander, superb markswoman, and healer for many years in the fight against Naraku, she ignored her wounds to save Miroku and take the fight to the hated Naraku despite the extreme personal risk. Waging her own personal war against the terrible foe for several years, she was the first to develop the Shikon Purification Strategy and brought others into her plan. Putting aside her rival’s lack of worthiness in both combat and love, she tirelessly worked to assist all who oppose Naraku, even when they did not understand the necessity of her methods. In the end she gave her remaining life force in the operation to purify the Shikon Jewel while Naraku was attempting to inhabit it. The war continues, but her sacrifice will never be forgotten.

Herman Yandell – The age of Zeke ascendancy was a hard one for the poor soldiers who made up the EFGF, they fought against a technically superior enemy that pushed them to their limits of endurance and courage. This long and bitter fight had caused numerous wounds on Lt. Yandell, both psychological and physical, unlike those pretty boy engineers in the Zeke wasted weapons program. Despite the personal hardships, his grief, and his endless nightmares Yandell never backed down from a fight. While the Type 61 was no match for the Zakus they faced, it did not stop Herman Yandell from taking the fight to the enemy and in his final moment of supreme triumph felled the White Ogre. Sadly his victory was cut short by a Zeke RPG team, while Yandell and his beloved Type 61 have gone into the mists of time, his name will forever remain on the honor roll of the honored dead who have gave all they had and more in the fight against the vile Zekes.

Arleen Nazon, Karppi, and Kuzuwayo – Operation Odessa was a hard fought campaign that cost many a Feddie his life to expel the hated Zeke invaders from the Earth, among them were three engineers who were betrayed and had the blame thrust upon them by a traitor they once called friend. Despite having years of work undone by a base act of treachery, and despite being relegated to becoming penal troops neither Nazon, Karppi, nor Kuzuwayo cowered in some jail cell to weep of the injustice that was inflicted upon them. Instead they sallied forth with all the courage they could muster to endure the insults and get back into the fight at a most important hour. None of them had any previous combat experience yet they rose to the challenge and met it tread first and built a fearsome reputation for getting the job done. The swathes of dead and dying Zekes was a testament to their righteous fury. But it was during their first mission with the 44th Independent Composite Brigade that they met a a tragic end, but their deaths were not in vain as they successfully annihilated an entire Zeke Battalion and their supporting heavy artillery in their last charge. Even when confronted by a traitor professing love and friendship they did not heed his lies and blew him straight to hell where all Zekes go when they die. For their tenacious efforts between the time of their sentencing to the their last charge they were granted amnesty and the Focker Cross for performing above and beyond the call of duty and making the supreme sacrifice under conditions that were harder than they needed to be.

Lieutenant Colonel Barack Ginin – The war against GN Terror cost many good men their lives, but one in particular stands out for his sins were few and his conduct noble through and through. Unlike the terrorists he did battle with, Ginin was never the one to moan every other episode about how Kataron had killed his wife in a terror attack, and maintained his composure in front of his subordinates including one very lost Louise. His loyalty was first and foremost to the men who served with him and despite Louise’s lackluster performance early on spared no effort in giving her praise when she did well and never failed to bail her out when the rookie got herself in trouble. While terrorists such as Klaus and Shirin are hailed as heroes for bombing civilians, Ginin was condemned as a criminal for merely killing members of a terrorist movement. While the quality of Ginin’s beloved Federation might have been less than that of the Federation that Yandell, MacKenzie, Nazon, Burning, Monsha, Sanders, Bate, Synapse, Adel, Amada, Joshua, and many others defended, his courage and bearing were equal. To set the record straight and to honor a man who made the supreme sacrifice so that his team might live and Katie’s operation might succeed it is with great pride and sorrow that we are to award the Focker Cross to one of the few true heroes of Gundam 00.

I started aniblogging roughly a year ago, my first post was April 29, 2008. So let me provide a rough sketch of events that make up a year’s worth of internet history.

Part 1 – Genesis

c. April 20, 2008: started stalking Animanachronism via his MAL, read Colonial Code Geas and Narnian Nerve Gas, this is the gateway blog/post/blogger, so I am indebted to all this (don’t forget about MAL!).

c. April 22, 2008: created blog on wordpress, it sits there for a while.

c. April 23, 2008: discovered anime otaku, begin archive binge, Mike will later turn out to be first of many good online friends.

April 29, 2008: wrote first post on Takemoto [original is lost in the aether].

May 1, 2008: Mike wrote a lunar new year post considering my first post, providing good publicity. I discover the names Baka-Raptor and lolikitsune.

c. May 5, 2008: started conversing with itsubun, she drags me into IRC. Humorously, when on IRC, a fellow called “saturnine” says “hi lelangir”, and as I recall, I ignored him a few times. I had not heard good things about this “saturnine” guy. He was an entity to be avoided.

May 19, 2008: in response to massive lolikitxowen dorama, the first overly-sexual comic-parody based on Kure-nai is made.

May 20, 2008: hilarious dorama at heterochromia, an equally lol-post is written in response, but, most importantly, my post is linked to THAT by Impz, creating big traffic for the day and more publicity.

c. May 25, 2008: the sphere collectively discussed microblogging, stemming perhaps from Bateszi’s creation of Afterimage (3/7/08). I start to use MAL blog and tumblr as primary retreats for microblogging, a starting point in theorizing about the internet.

June 4, 2008: wrote post in response to itsubun’s feminist round robin, I mean, all-girls-round-robin (AGRR), though this merely indicates itsubun’s influence of inter-blog collaboration and a basis for future thoughts on collaboration.

Part 2 – dasaku

June 29, 2008: moved to dasaku, you may remember:

c. July 15, 2008: deleted original wordpress archives, the formulation of nomadic blogging spree.

c. mid-July 2008: begin watching LoGH (life is forever changed).

July 25, 2008: final post on “lelangiric” iteration of dasaku hosting.

Part 3 – Wandering

July 26, 2008: first post at THAT.

July 27, 2008: guest post at Minimum Tempo.

July 28, 2008: first post at superfani.

August 1, 2008: first post at cal’intents.

August 3, 2008: first post at Yukan.

c. August, 2008: re-create “lelangiric” centralized archives, which are pre-50, post #50 being the first at THAT.

Part 4 – metatheory and google

November 11, 2008: create LoGH blog, first post there.

November 20, 2008: write first “on blogging” post, the start of many changes.

November 26, 2008: “optimize your reading” cross-posted, the glory of google reader shared items is discovered.

November 28, 2008: first post at fallen aizen.

c. late November: registered for twitter.

Part 5 – anitations, metatheory put into practice

December 8, 2008: first anitations post.

c. December 15, 2008: started to do collected notes on episodic posts at anitations as well as CCY’s 12 days of Christmas. The 2.0-ish role of collating is new.

c. Christmas 2008: round-robin-ish dialogue on Kannagi is churned out, teamwork effort is decidedly a failure.

c. January 2009: various dialogues with Crusader, lolikit, digiboy, etc., towards dialogue as a new style of content.

January 8, 2009: last post of the 5-part meta series, inarguably the most educational experience.

Part 6 – NAO

March 1, 2009: music blog instated.

March 17, 2009: ani-blog-music feed started.

March 29, 2009: podcast with calaggie.

c. April 2009: ０（笑）「２．７１」んのちんちんを食べました！オイシでした！

in perspective

- As of today, the secret-google-society has risen in ranks to at least 18 people.

- I haven’t written a decent post since April 7^th. Twitter is to blame.

- My main contributions to meaningful discourse are comprised mostly of spamming my poor google reader friends with K-ON MADs and/or commenting on other’s shared items with raucous and irate LOLOLOLOL or wwwwwwwwwwing. I rule.

- わーーーーーーーい！LELANGIR BANZAI. PROSIT。

So with convention season reaching a fevered pitch during the spring and summer I thought that it would be fun to introduce the finer points of one of my convention staples, the MRE. Now I know that the thing says COMMERCIAL RESALE IS ILLEGAL, but there is no actual law that I have seen and they sell the things at the Travis AFB commissary anyways so if one wanted to one could get these things, even the manufacturers sell them directly though you have to buy a whole case at a time. Still at about $7.25 (there is a Tailored Operational Training Meal that goes for about $4.22 that has less calories, though is not nearly as impact resistant) a pop it’s not nearly as bad as those hotdogs, hamburgers, and small bowls of chili that the hotel or convention center tries to sell you, I am sure usagijen is going to have a fit at what I am about to say, but there certainly are benefits to having a light weight lunch that is rated to be shoved off C-130s. Besides it tastes just as good if not better than the standard convention food, and at least when you make it is fairly hot and not mildly warm to cold. If you can get a hold of these and your venue won’t have reasonably priced food I’d recommend getting an MRE especially if your schedule is packed, less time spent eating means more time doing other stuff. Besides it’s a better option than eating fast food at every meal or getting that $1.50 1 oz. bag of chips. So yeah I had one that was getting a bit old and decided it would be fun to open it up just for fun.

They call it beef steak, I call it mystery meat…

Despite the jokes of MRE meaning Materials Resembling Edibles, Massive Rectal Expulsions, Meals Rejected by Everyone, etc. it’s sort of like canned food, though the meat patties are often tough there are superior menus like the pot roast, rice, and beef stew. Other than the main course which can really be hit or miss the rest of it is usually good. The cookies are dry but edible and it tastes like a cookie, the pound cake is better, and I personally thing the crackers are okay since they have a high fiber content so that it won’t clog your system, plus they usually give you cheese spread or jam to go with it. I don’t like the wheat snack bread all too much but it does fill in for the crackers. Otherwise the fruit tastes like canned fruit and you do get candy like Skittles and M&Ms. If you are lucky you get one of the prized milk shake powders which are pretty much a meal in and of themselves and are often the most palatable part., otherwise they are excellent trade items in the field. Just be sure to drink plenty of water since you will need it… They also come in vegetarian and have fewer problems than the chicken for the most part.

Yeah my kitchen was a mess that day…

When I first saw these things in high school I though that they were the coolest things since I expected canned spam. That flameless ration heater isn’t much nowadays but back in the late 1990s I thought they were something, the thing relies on the oxidation of magnesium which produces hydrogen gas which you don’t want to get a good whiff of. The water gets really hot and is undrinkable but it gets the job done. The tiny bottle of Tabasco sauce is standard and is a god send if you need to add flavor to something or if you just like spicy foods. Just keep in mind these things really pack the calories averaging about 1200 for a full MRE since soldiers burn more calories running jumping and shooting.. The thing also comes with waterproof matches that usually work when dampened so if you need to burn those loli doujins in a hurry you can do it fairly easily and even in the rain! Still the flameless ration heater really isn’t allowed to go on a plane nakkid so you will need a sealed MRE if you are planning on flying. Otherwise boiling is a good enough method of the heater fails or you lose it. You also need a small knife or some sort of cutting device because the pouched can be really tough and even then you don’t want to peel it at the notches. Better to cut laterally so it’s more accessible and easier to eat.  If nothing else you can laugh at what passes for food for poor bastards like me during the first few weeks of hitting the ground.

More like any beans…at least they got rid of those lima bean dishes.

Opening an MRE is like opening a present, you don’t know what’s in it and even when you open something with a weird name you might find that it is something you normally eat any way, such as the fruit pastry which is really a pop tart. If nothing else get some for the zombie invasion or a natural disaster kit.

Uncle Sam is not bound by advertising laws, because he bought them not you…

The modern hard tack.

These actually taste pretty good.

Though it’s not the healthiest thing in the world…

Yeah those are real tootsie rolls, Uncle Sam like to have fun with words.

Ah it feels like the public school lunch program all over again.

Just make sure not to eat these at before you rack out.

Unlike Akiko’s Jammu it won’t kil you.

If Impz thinks he can get all rabu rabu while the rest of us are single he’s got another thing coming… – Lord Kitchener

So once again it is Kimberley Liberation Day, the anniversary of the beginning of then Major General John French’s attempt to relieve the South African town of Kimberley that was the first in a series of British success that rekindled support for the last Imperial War and forced the Boers to resort to guerrilla tactics which were brutally dealt with by Lord Kitchener. So while the uncaring pairs of losers in love across the globe celebrate their so called love that will not last until death do they part I wish to spread the word on another holiday that ought to occur in concert with Adnan bin Saidi Memorial Day. While others deign to celebrate that lesser holiday known as Valentines or Singles Awareness Day, i hope you wall join me in marking this day in an altogether different and far more respectful manner. For on this day in the year 1900 over 100 years ago the British Empire had suffered a series of humiliating defeats at the hands of the Boers of Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Onto the stage came a polite tea drinking Englishman that led a cavalry attack that broke the 124 day siege of Kimberley that marked a dramatic turn in British fortunes in the Second Boer War. You see those lovey dovey otaku who are going out tonight have had their preconceptions colored by the heirs of a failed imperial power, known today as Akihabara who invented a cheap shoddy imitation empire known as the Britannian Empire that was full of fail and lose as they never drank enough tea. Back then when IKnight’s tea drinking ancestors were sipping tea in their colonies on every continent that mattered, the British did things that would make whiney emo commies (because we all know the people who bitch the most about empire are fucking communists) cry for years to come.

You see when war was war and there was no bullshit called chivalry or bushido malarkey to justify rape, those tea drinking English were ass kickers of the highest order who also hired other ass kickers like Sikhs and Gurkhas. This Second Boer War was the kind of war every peacenik forgets to study despite being a war with no real good guys and puts just about ever fiction writer who writes about war to shame. The cause of this war was really gold and diamonds, and no bullshit story has ever come up with a better awful casus belli than that. While the actions of John French and his men were important even more awful was the crap that followed. The Boers figured that they were better off using guerilla tactics, like those the pussies of the United States of Japan have yet to master, the British were at a loss of what to do until Lord Frederick Roberts devised a strategy of camps, blockhouses, scorched earth, and New Model tactics, which one Lord Herbert Kitchener brutally meted out to the Boers to crush them for good. You see unlike those fictitious Britannians the British understood that merely killing a Boer was not going to do it and by fencing off the land, burning down farms, salting the earth, at first rounding up the women and children, and later letting the women and children roam freely to weigh down the Boer commandoes was going to achieve far better results. It has been alleged that tea drinking Lord Kitchener LOLed at the Liberals who thought that keeping Boer women and children out of the camps was more merciful to leave them out there amongst the blackened ruins of their farms with no food at all. In fact it made perfect military sense as his sweeper groups were more able to run down Boer commandoes who had women and children in tow.

That is how Lord Kitchener became the public face of one of the most brutal and wildly successful anti-guerrilla campaigns ever waged, the combination of blockhouses, sweeper columns, cavalry raiders, scorched earth, and camps that killed not out of malice but out of apathy proved to be a winning formula for victory.  The Federation could learn much from an unprincipled tea drinker like Kitchener to deal with Kataron. While a paltry 1000 dead can now be considered genocide and a raid is now an invasion and occupation, back in ye old days the scale was much greater and those who go out and make toasts this night are toasting to the tune of over 53,000 dead for some gold and diamond mines. The insult does not end there the terms for the Boer surrender were far too friendly and led to Apartheid (because those Boers were racists how’s that for GRIMDARK) which lasted until 1994, the scorched earth policy that resulted in untold devastation of agricultural lands that were rendered useless and made mining the primary basis for the South African economy for the immediate aftermath. The British learned to wear khaki as their bright red coats were bullet magnets, this then led to a few Germans getting really ticked off in 1914 when they found that those tea drinking British were cheating.

Before their defeat at Kimberley the Boers could have snatched victory, but after Kimberley, even with a guerrilla campaign their defeat was inevitable as Lord Kitchener had no problems putting people into camps, burning down farms, and relentlessly harassing the Boer commandos until they accepted his terms. So couples of the world may you enjoy your meals over the anniversary of the Kimberley turning point of the Second Boer War and the beginnings of Apartheid, you sick human beings. Also Adnan bin Saidi is rolling in his grave for giving up his life so that these two can pollute the internets.

I am not a storyteller, or one that can weave an epic story of betrayal, love and tragedy. I will never be able to sell a single fiction book, even if I sold it for 5 cents. However, I will like to present a very simple story, one that fits the mood of Valentine’s/Friendship Day. This is just a very simple story about a boy and a girl.

There was a boy. He was remarkably ordinary, at least not good-looking, smart, friendly or even kind. In fact, he is often too blunt in his words, and often gained enemies without noticing. He did not really care though; he was happy just being in his self-contained sphere. He was also a very pragmatic person, yet his failure was his idealism in romance. He experienced quite a few fleeting relationships, never lasting more than a year. He enjoyed falling in love, because it made him feel on top of the world. Yet, he hated falling in love because he found his heart crushed by the very girl he wished to love. He did not trust love. He only trusted in himself.

One day, the boy decided to blog. It was a dilettantish interest to share his thoughts about things he liked. The truth was that the boy was a little lonely. Oh, he had friends, a few good close friends that he can regard as buddies. However, they never truly knew who he was. He was never able to be fully himself, or he always had to hide his true feelings behind a shell of denial. Everyone was the same way, he often thought, and he was one that did not enjoy wearing that mask.

When he first started blogging, he did not have many visitors to his site. However, one of the visitors was a girl that seemed to have so much in common with him. The girl sounded eloquent, and clearly has a good grasp of writing. As an writer, the boy was impressed with the girl. After a few exchanges, the boy emailed the girl, wanting to see if he could speak with her on another platform. The boy found himself slowly interested in this rather mysterious girl.

After spending time talking to this girl on the phone, he realized that he cannot fall in love with this girl. They are across two continents apart, and the boy is not a millionaire to travel over every few days. It seemed impossible, and he heard all the tales of “it’s just an online relationship.” He was not going to find himself in a position where he would feel helpless. He tried to convince himself but found himself attracted to the girl’s demeanor. He told himself that he could not go on with this.

But he did. He fell in love with the girl, and the girl fell in love with him too. After a crazy confession across two continents on the phone, the boy was with the girl. They eventually met in real life too, when the boy flew over to meet the girl. By then, he already knew that the girl he fell in love with was not the same girl that he knew a few months earlier. All humans hid the bad side of themselves when they first know a person. The girl did too. The boy once again fell in love with the girl. Together, they are still trying to find a way so that they can be together. The time is not yet here, but it will come if they keep persevering.

In love, it is not perfection that makes a relationship work. It is the beautiful flaws that are bridged by the human hand. The human touch is fragile yet powerful, and it is perhaps the only way that two people can be brought together. There is never such a thing such as a perfect couple, for that means these two are probably not in love with each other. Perhaps, I am wrong but humans are flawed. How can something that is built of flaws be perfect? For those who are attached, cherish the flaws of your partner for these flaws are created for a reason. For those who are single, your moment is soon to come: it’s only whether you want to take the first step or enjoy spending time with what is most important to all humans. Yourself.

I was chatting with Blurmage on IRC when he mentioned about getting a counterfeit nendoroid in the EOY convention held a few weeks ago. When he actually posted this news on SGCafe to get the views and warn others about this situation, I was appalled to see many comments ridiculing him about his stupidity. They were laughing, insulting and stating that it’s his fault for purchasing a fake figurine, while happily condoning the fact that A FAKE FIGURINE is actually sold in a prestigious convention such as EOY. Let me add that I do not think Blurmage is devoid of all blame. As a buyer, he could have been more informed about the situation, and as many have said in the thread, take this as a painful lesson to know that there are counterfeit stuff.

However, we see comments such as this on a popular Singaporean forum, SGcafe. Sometimes, I feel embarrassed that I am a Singaporean when we have forum users writing in such juvenile language.

They do sadly , I mean , I dun blame PITB , their service is flawless , and not only tat , most SG peeps are cheapskates who just want all the good stuff , even if they are fakes XD Majority of PSP users (Inclusive of myself) Don’t even have a UMD XD

Let me give a scenario. McDonalds accidentally sold some pork on the menu when it is supposed to be Halal. Obviously, McDonalds did not know about this, but it still happened. Muslims are offended because they ate the meat unknowingly and only realized when they consumed the food. Can a plea of ignorance clear McDonalds from any wrong doing? NO WAY. In fact, criminal law usually considers a plea of ignorance to be a rare case because it usually discredits the whole notion of responsibility of a seller. If you would say anything disagreeing about this point of view, I would love to see if it makes sense. I am probably lacking in the ability to understand the logic that goes against the above scenario. I do not deny that the example is not exactly the scenario that Blurmage, but the allegations seemed to hint that the distributor’s ignorance clears them of all sin.

I feel almost insulted and embarrassed to share the Internet with people of retarded behavior and trolling abilities that fail very badly. If you want to troll, please do it in an intelligent manner so that it feels like you actually have a brain. Anyway, before you can say anything, good work Anonymous. You have done a good job.

P.s: Blurmage, you should really just talk to the distributor, ask for a possible refund, and close the issue. Ignore the retards in the thread please.

As we come to the end of the year, it is always nice to provide some flashbacks to the year in review. 2008 has been a terrible year in reality, what with the economic recession, the horrid Mumbai blastings that killed many innocents including a Singaporean lady, the uneasy truce that just ended between Israel and Palestine and the escalating oil prices (though it dropped to 37 US dollars due to recession). However, THAT is not a political site. So, let’s screw that start and go into the topic we are actually discussing.

Anime Blogging in 2008 for THAT. It will not be that long an entry. Just in case you get really lazy to read whatever is below, please give us your feedback for these three questions.

1. Who are the bloggers you usually follow in THAT?
2. What do you like most about THAT?
3. What do you hope to see more often in THAT?

So, before I go into TL:DR territory here, I will go straight into the report. Enjoy! Also, get ready for tons of images that makes no sense at all in this post.

Status of THAT Bloggers

Just one of the many series that we blogged this year!

This year was a rather tumultuous year for THAT. THAT Bloggers came in with high spirits and fervor, before disappearing into the shadows, never to appear again. Calawain continuously told me about my futile attempts to recruit writers that stopped after a few entries. He also took over the Preview entries after saying that I generally make a mess of the html (he’s just a control freak, really!) Crusader obviously had a good year in the blog. His entries ranked among the most popular series covered in the blog. They include True Tears, Macross Frontier and currently Gundam00. However, it is the collaborations with Calawain on Code Geass that made Code Geass the most popular anime series blogged in THAT. Of course, our three consistent bloggers in the form of Lupus, RV and Shokkeru still churned out entries on their own pace. Of course, we also have the wandering minstrel Lelangir writing editorial posts in this hugely episodic summary blog to give us some variety.

Some bloggers of THAT also went on for greener pastures after a short stay in our blog. Riex and Itsubun. Jiff, Extrange and Maipeisu became busy with real life situations and started to write less …or more like nothing. Still, we will be patiently waiting for them to return when they get more free time on their hands. For now, you just have to make do with the few of us who are still around, kicking and trying to get your attention.

Growth of the Blog

Everything has to grow up, even THAT Anime Blog. But why….must they GROW UP!

Once a single red dot in the anime blogosphere, I can be proud to say that we have gone a long way from there. We are hardly in the league of elite anime bloggers such as Random Curiosity, DarkMirage or Moetron, but we do have our loyal readers out there who have been gracious to follow our blog.

In the past year (up to December 23rd, 2008), we have gotten close to 1.6 million visitors, and a total of 3.2 million pageviews. Of course, if we are going to go into the details, we only have 890,000 unique visitors in the past year. I must say that it is not too shabby because it meant that we have around 110,000 visitors every month. I can’t complain about that. Traffic also grew from around 2000 visitors at the start of January to an average of 5000-6000 monthly visitors in the last three months of the year.

Other trivia included Firefox being the preferred browser choice by users of THAT. In the search engine results, the top search words for the blog is “that anime blog” (gasp), “anime blog” and “that animeblog.” The top three popular entries for the year is the “Charlie Brown entry“, “Our fall anime preview for 2008” and of course the post that no one really cares, “Ranking the espada.”

If I said that I expected the blog to have some decent popularity when I first started this blog with three of my real life friends (who have since lost interest in anime, and left to other interests), I will be lying. Nonetheless, it is everyone who has contributed to the “success” of the blog. Without your support (yes, cliche time), we will not be where we are!

Blogs that brought us traffic

Go, Sheryl, Go!

Here are the top 10 blogs in order that brought the most traffic to us. We thank them for linking our humble site.

1. Random Curiosity
2. Minaidehazukashii.com (Now at wordpress!)
3. Kurogane Anime Blog
4. Riuva
5. Sea Slugs Team
6. Subculture Anime Blog
7. Star Crossed Anime Blog
8. Atarashii Prelude
9. Scrumptious Anime Blog
10. Anime Blog ga Arimasu

Thank you so much! In addition, I sincerely thank all other blogs who are kind enough to link our blog!

The future

We will usher the coming of the new year with a new blog template in January or February. It will be very drastically different from the current template, and is aimed to diversify our content to things other than episodic summaries. Other than that, we will just be here churning our usual stuff, and do come back often.

Thank you once again, and do comment for the feedback details. If you forgot, here are the details again!

1. Who are the bloggers you usually follow in THAT?
2. What do you like most about THAT?
3. What do you hope to see more often in THAT?

Yes, believe it or not, THAT trap has left stage 25 of his life to stage 26. Heck, I can’t believe it either. He still acts the evil brat towards me. And yes, Impz is evil, pure evil! May lightning strike me dead if I’m lying about his malevolence.

Ha! I’m still typing!

Anyway, I’ve come to realize that I’ve done a public service to (wo)mankind by sticking with THAT trappy blogger as his girlfriend. Well, I actually think I’ve done a saintly deed by keeping him away and making sure he does not do evil things to all of you. And because of my saintly self, it is my duty to greet and celebrate the Impz’s birthday, even if he is evil incarnate.

I’ll continue this little greeting by posting something quite special tomorrow. It will kill me. It will stun you, but it will make Impz very happy. (lulz, lulz, lulz!)

P.S. To the author whose entry is supposed to be posted at this time, I apologize if I messed up the timing. I’m still new at this… and come on, you have to forgive me! This is an annual-only chance to greet/annoy/embarass Impz on his birthday!

I looked at my watch and eagerly awaited for the time my train was supposed to arrive. After leaving from my part-time job as well as listing files in front of my computer for seven hours, I was thinking only about the magazine in my hands and the Boom Boom Satellites CD I was listening to. As the sunset was glaring, I adjusted my sunglasses and stood in line as I got ready to board the incoming train. As was usual, the train was devoid from seated places, since it’s full with people getting back to their homes, so I sit on the ground, on the opposite side of the train door.

Then she entered…

I didn’t pay much attention at first: she was just another person in the daily throng. She sat next to me, however, leaned into the back of the side seats and placed her shopping bag between her legs. As man is naturally curious, I looked sideways to check my transient neighbor, and I didn’t forget what I saw. That moment was one of those times when one just froze at awe towards the beauty of the spectacle. It was what happened to me at that exact time. She was wearing a jean shorts and a striped polo, which combined with her dark brown short hair gave her a tomboyish look. I coudn’t help noticing her slight tanned skin and the perky butt emphasized by her shorts. The bust was the size of apples and the eyes filled with energy. In conclusion, the kind of girl you meet so rarely in your lifetime.

A intent of speaking with her grew with me but I’m not the kind of guy bold enough to do these sort of things, so I was only able to watch from behind my sunglasses during the 40 minutes the trip took. While stuck on that impasse, I couldn’t help to compare my situation with Densha Otoko, or with the zillion romance mangas I know. Afterall, in spite of being works of fiction, mangas have their bases on real life, trying to depict it in a different perspective. But nevertheless, life tends to not have convenient triggers or “sparks” to move the action forward: we get restrained by the social laws of society and common sense, limiting our actions and expression.

Meanwhile, the trip ended. I even thought of slipping my phone number into her shopping bag but how she would react to the fact that a total stranger had made something like that? But even if I dared to think of something like that, I could no more because my chance was lost. I her leaving the train without looking back, another anonymous human being that fades away in the crowd. Each time I take the same train I think about her and wonder if I’ll see her again and if I could have made something different…

Thanks to mike for the help he gave me while writing this post.

Two what? Obviously, it is now two years since the establishment of T.H.A.T. Two years ago, four random friends on the Internet decided to set up an anime blog. None of us probably expected this tiny little anime blog to go anywhere, since the Internet is notorious for kicking newbies in the gut, solar plexis and the ass to gain any fame/infamy. With a blink of an eye, two years have past. With that in mind, Calawain asked me to write an anniversary post, despite my reluctance to write a boring post.

Impz: hahaha. i am thinking how to write it well
Calawain15: uh thank all the writers and commenters over the two years
Calawain15: and the other bloggers in the community
Calawain15: you’re glad to be a part of such a great team of people, blah blah
Calawain15: hope we can continue for another year blah blah
Impz: that sounds so boring.
Calawain15: …..
Calawain15: it’s just an anniversary post

 
However, I decided to get rid of my prejudices for such a post. It’s important to thank the various important people and make a semi-serious evaluation of THAT bloggers. If you are wondering, none of them know that they are going to be evaluated, so they are likely to express as much surprise as you, the reader who is reading this.

Without my co-bloggers, THAT will never be THAT. It will be about green haired lolis and Tsuruya, which is not bad but not exactly great. It’s time to bring the crystal ball of reminiscence and embarrassment. Let me bring you back into the history, where we first started as clueless bloggers of THAT. Alkanphel, Joo and Mr Admin were the initial anime bloggers in this humble blog, and it soon became a behemoth of a team. I think I will make a separate entry on remarkable commentators, since it is probably way too much to include them in this post. The three new bloggers and Maipeisu are not included, so thank your lucky stars for escaping my evaluation!

The past and present bloggers of THAT

Alkanphel was the random poster, putting up a picture and less than a paragraph of words. In his own words, he said that it’s hard to write anything because he is so darn lazy. That reminds me that I got to stay back this Tuesday at work, so that I can meet him up in lunch at my university. If you checked his first post in THAT, you know exactly what I mean.

Jooo writes on J-drama, and she simply got bored of writing in THAT, and returned to her personal blog. Now, unless I am mistaken, she hardly watches any anime anymore since the J and K-drama bug has bitten her completely into a convert. As expected, Joo’s first entry is about Goong, a very popular K-drama series two years ago.

Mr. Admin, well, I don’t know but he is probably having a hell of a time with his girlfriend still. He was in charge of the administrative matters, setting up this blog and ya, admin stuff. Oh, I fail to meet him the two times I am in California too. His first post is coincidentally on the site launch of THAT, which represents our humble start.

Lupus, oh Lupus, how do I start? Before you think I forgot about Luppie-chan, he is the first blogger that came in after abandoning his own blog. He is probably the first blogger that came in and is still in here. Yes, being here but not writing that much is still being in here. I am just so lenient. His first entry, by the way, is on Full Metal Alchemist Chapter 61 way back in 2006. God, he does blog manga stuff huh.

Crusader, the gun-tottering hater of emo-fags and Gundams, entered through our first THAT recruitment drive for bloggers. He came in writing a whole thesis paper about army stuff. I never admitted to him, but I didn’t understand like 80% of what he is saying. That said, I probably still don’t know 60% of all his fricking references in his entries. Nonetheless, you guys love this extremely verbose and sharp writer, and he has become one of the mainstays of THAT. Funnily enough, his first entry is on Hayate no Gotoku and lacks anger (huge shock?).

Shokkeru came in alongside Crusader during the THAT recruitment drive for bloggers. I actually thought that he stopped writing for a while since he got busy, but hey he is now blogging more stuff than me. He’s generally the nicest person here in THAT, though it is quite easy to be a nice person when you have emo-hating Crusader and critical perfectionist Calawain in THAT. You do not need to try that hard. Here’s his first entry in THAT, on TTGL of all things.

Calawain appeared in THAT, and I must admit that I do not really remember how he entered the blog. Once he did, I knew he is going to be a gem of a writer. He probably wanted to kill me more than three times during his time here, and he took up the major task of making our season preview look good. He hates shoujo too, and I hate whatever he likes in general. Oh, I can be particularly lazy with scripting at times and he is an excellent perfectionist, so it is always good to have someone complementing me. Anyway, he started off writing about Night Wizard which is queer since he’s an ecchi-loving fan.

Briar is our token bishoujo who officially sold her soul and body to real life work. I have not talked to her for a long time, but she is always funny to talk to. For your information, never call her auntie. I do that all the time, and I am on the verge of being ignored by her, if I am not already. Anyway, it’s little surprise that her first post is on Kaze no Stigma, with cute men for cute romance and love.

Extrange is the second blogger that abandoned his blog for greener pastures (yes, pun completely intended). He is supposedly the resident lolicon, though Shokkeru is the unofficial tsundere lolicon that refuses to admit that he is one. I mean, it’s so damn obvious. Anyway, he likes manga and forces manga down my throat whenever I am on YIM. Nonetheless, I got to read many manga because of him. Oh, he reads hentai too and asks me to read it. NO, HE WILL DENY IT LATER, BUT TRUST ME HE DOES READ PORN! Anyway, being a lolicon, he wrote his first entry on moe.

Reverse Vampire is our resident loli, who decided to apply to our blog to improve her writing and share her hatred of Kaname. She is perhaps one of the most free-willed spirits in the blog, and it’s really hard to capture her attention. Maybe, it’s the generation gap but I tend to have problems following her thought process. Nonetheless, she is still developing as a writer, and it’s fun to have her here. Her first entry is an intense entry of hate for Vampire Knight’s Kaname.

Igunis disappeared after writing 16 posts. It’s a pity, because he is a really nice guy that just had a severe case of writing block cum burnout. I think he is definitely watching anime still, but it’s a pity that he disappeared before he can establish himself here in THAT. His first entry is him being a bum and watching anime. Life is good.

Riex is another blogger that left the team, and still assists us in maintaining the template and bugs of the website once in a while. He confessed that it is always hard to maintain that individuality in a team blog, and having his own blog often allows him to be extravagant and write what he really wants. I do wish him well, since he always has many interesting ideas up his sleeve. It’s a pity, but a man got to do what a man got to do. As queer and interesting a person he is, his first post epitomizes Riex completely.

That is it. Thank you for reading this whole wall of text and I thank you for visiting THAT for the last two years. It’s always a shock how this blog grew, but it grew because of you. Thank you.

It’s not about the end but rather how you got there.

So after finishing a rather grueling lab I decided to rent some movies about 3-D folk and wound up watching something that I had been meaning for some time to see but with that rolling release it never came to my end of the earth. So Journey from the Fall is a historical drama that was based on the experience of those who survived the camps and the perilous journey in leaky boats. It was quite different from the typical Vietnam film as it deals much more about the consequences of the North Vietnamese victory in 1975 and lacks the glory, action, and moonshine of jungle warfare that marks most films that deal with the Vietnam War. It does something I wish all films with an anti-war theme would do, namely show the consequences of war rather than the heroics of war. Perhaps one day the complete story of the Vietnam War will be told and reflected upon by less impassioned minds, but nonetheless it is part of the minority of films that dealt with what happened to the Vietnamese Diaspora who count themselves among the lesser known victims of the war.

Just because you go for realism doesn’t mean you can’t be snide…

These two figured out the best use for a communist.

It’s a real tear jerky film but the events remain somewhat universal to most of the people who fled Vietnam in the years after the communist victory and those who languished in camps. I like that it doesn’t try to debate the morality of the war because just about every one lost, with exception to the politburo. The film covers the fall, the camps, the journey, and the not so smooth assimilation to the new home. I can’t find the words to describe the film other than that it was good. I hope more people would take the time to see it now that it has been released on DVD. If your family did recently immigrate to a new land then I think that you can relate to most of the assimilation arc. I know I chuckled a bit inside when some of the scenes reminded me about how my parents struggled to make ends meet.

The leaky boat.

Sad thing is not all of them made it.

Even if it deals specifically about the refuges and prisoners of the Vietnam War, it is also a reminder that even at the end of a war there is usually the issue of displaced persons and refugees. Often the ensuing refugee crises in the wake of conflict hardly illicit the sort of international response than the mobilization for and the opposition to war, and seldom become topics of discussion. It might be a presage of things to come when a state fails, or harsh regimes gain hegemony. I hope that in the future that even if people are vocal about their opposition to war that they retain such drive to solve the problems that come after. It is rather sad that in the case of Vietnam the willingness to oppose the war did not translate into corresponding motivation to cope with the ensuing refugee crisis. Regardless of politics I hope the enthusiasm to complain about a mess will some day equal efforts to deal with the aftermath.

If nothing else you should see this film because it was banned in the People’s Republic of Vietnam.

Why yes I would gladly pay 300 yen for some badly fried soba and all the water I can drink.

Well now the circle is now complete and I got my 1/8 Max Factory Mikuru in School Festival outfit. Given how times are kind of tough right now I guess this will be the last thing I’ll be getting for a while. Thus far given the weak dollar this is about the most I have ever spent on a figure to date. So I have been wondering since the dollar is weak any of you boys and girls still shopping like crazy importing stuff? This also another plea to the cult leader to give us secrets so we might be able to buy more; alas Moyism is remaining tight lipped about the secret to avoiding financial ruin. Now that I have one figure for every character in SHnY I feel some what triumphant, but for some reason I feel content to the point that there is nothing right now that tickles my fancy. Not sure if this is a sign that I have lost the passion, but unless one of the big PVC companies is putting out a Sheryl, Ranka, Klein, and Alto-hime figures I can’t think of anything coming out or has been released that I just had to have. (Yeah I suck at photography get over it.)

She may trip and drop it all…so any one want to take the hit?

Looks Megas good ~nyoro

So I am not sure if I have become wiser or that the passion has just faded. I am glad Mikuru arrived, but some how the gut wrenching price of 20 more USD than usual removed some of the joy. I am fortunate that I have enough discipline to not have bought a bunch of other stuff, but I still wonder how those hardcore otaku do it. Is there some sort of secret that I am not privy to? I know most of us are still poor starving college students or high schoolers still living with mummy and daddy, but even with my comfy pay check from Uncle Sam the weak dollar is making me weep. It kind of makes me worried about the future since the economic climate here just looks bleaker and bleaker given how the grand plan to get a house with my younger brother after college was scuttled when the housing bubble burst. Hopefully things will be better in a year or so, I’d much rather have a house of my own than have to move back in with my folks. Nothing wrong with having to move back in with your family given how the times are hard, but for me I want my own house some day instead of renting an apartment, mostly because I see it as a waste of money that delays a purchase of a home of my own. At least with the house I can make it a fortress of doom complete with death rays, nuclear missiles, and private hanger for a VF-25S with armor pack without having some irritable landlady chew my face off for knocking down a few walls.

My meager collection.

Quite why I my figures arrive the day I finish a project is still something that baffles me.

I really hate how when I graduated from high school the economy had tanked and once again it has tanked when I am about the get the hell out of college. Thankfully once I get out I still have my enlistment to provide some income and not be a total freeter when I move back home. If nothing else I might take a solicitation to the sand box if only to not see my parents in my utter disgrace over having everything not go as planned. I just hope there is some sort of bonus for re-enlisting when that time comes. Well for all the thunder clouds on the horizon maybe God does have a plan, once again a figure arrived at the same time I finished a painting project, that or this is one hell of a consistent coincidence. In any case my first two squads of Imperial Guard have been dubbed Fried Soba and Water in honor of having Mikuru completing the circle. Tsuruya’s fang I love that waitress outfit.

Fried Soba Squad.

Water Squad.

Some Larger Pictures:

Due to plain laziness to run the data, I only ran it during this month and it’s amusing that it is already three months since our last post like this. As usual, we have the battle royale for July, showing you the authors who are doing well, and those lazy punks that need to work harder (j/k). For all authors of THAT Anime Blog, this is all for laughter and self-depreciation. I hope no one will get offended. ^^

Of course, all results are average/means.

Author who has too much time - Impz with 20 posts
Author who forgot about THAT - Lupus with 1 post
Author who is TL;Dr - Crusader with 3516 words per post
Author who cannot fill the space - Extrange with 828 words per post
Author who is loved by readers - Calawain with 25.5 comments
Author who is loved by lurkers - Reverse Vampire with 4 comments
Author who yaks along with chatty readers - Calawain with 6503 words in comments
Author who gets “Thank you for blogging” comments - Reverse Vampire with 223 words in comments
Author with most blogosphere e-penor - Calawain with 6 trackbacks
Author with least blogosphere e-penor - Tie between Extrange, Reverse Vampire and Shokkeru with 0 trackbacks

Support your favorite blogger of THAT, and let him/her crush the other bloggers to smithereens next time! Honestly though, what is Crusader and Calawain freaking doing in those Code Geass entries? Having freaking novel and encyclopedia discussions? They yakked too much!

On site news, we will be ushering in three bloggers who have recently applied to the team. They will be revealed soon when we confirm their entrance to our blog. With these new writers entering the fray, we are not accepting any more applications to our blog until there is an opening available. We also revamped the “About us” page because the old one is just so damn boring that no one will bother to even read them ever. Now, we made it much more interesting that fits the character of the blog, so visit the new page and tell us what you think about it.

It’s always good to have a chance to laugh at your dumb girlfriend when you wake up in the morning. Here is the tale as re-accounted by my girlfriend on a private chat online. For some reason, she is speaking in the third person. A warning ahead of time: whatever sweet compliments she has subtly (well, not that subtle) implanted about her are hopelessly false and forced.

Here’s her tale of epic proportions, her journey into a world unseen, untouched and unheard in her life.

Thirteensugars’ little adventure into the wild

One fine late afternoon, when 13sugars was about to go home after work, she decided to go to Borders Book Store and there she was, happily walking, thinking about the manga which she will use to pop her manga-reading cherry. 13sugars entered the book store, all smiles and rainbows in her aura. She walked and started looking for her beloved Vampire Hunter D manga by Hideyuki Kikuchi-san. And suddenly, she came to an abrupt halt, there it was, standing in the shelf in all it’s beautiful, steamy, hot and sexy glory; her first manga!

She reached for it with shaky hands, weakened knees and dry mouth; the first volume… with the sexy damphir on the cover. She gazed at it lovingly with adoring eyes. She gently touched the cover, her fingers light and silky. Then she sighed, and it sounded like the sweetest hum of an anime fangirl. She turned around to get the second volume, but to her shock, horror and dismay, there was none! She quickly scanned the shelves as thoroughly as she could have, but the second volume of VHD was not there.

She immediately ran to the counter and asked for help. The guy scanned their stock and told her a sad report, “We don’t have that volume here, but if you like, we can order it for you. We’re supposed to have a stock of it by now, but….” Perhaps it was the shock, perhaps it was the sorrow, but the sweet girl suddenly answered, “Well, I’m looking for it but it’s not really for me…” The guy at the counter smiled and said teasingly, “Yeah right, it’s for you.” But, the girl, so intent upon her lie, insisted that it was not for her, and left the bookstore without even getting the damned first volume.

Sadly, she then realized that she had failed. She failed as an anime fan for lying and denying that the VHD manga was for her. Her only excuse was that, at that moment, she felt like she was buying pornography, something she ought not to be buying at all.

The poor girl…. so poor thing.

Afterthoughts by Impz

Have you ever felt like that? I know that I was very embarrassed when I first bought my manga or anime. Well, it’s not in the same degree as Thirteensugars. Are you ever embarrassed about purchasing anime merchandise or resisted against it in common public areas? Tell us your tale, and vote in the poll!

P/s: In the end, I have to purchase the manga online for her, so that she can read her manga. What a silly girlfriend.