Refraction

I am currently quite fond of this game, “Hikkoshiboroboro“. It’s a rather standard dodging game, but the creators have done a wonderful job injecting some human emotion in there that isn’t related to anger or fear: this, my friends, is a game about love.

Okay, so basic story, according to the Google translator:

Step beauty of the girl friend became to move to the Saitama new city center. Step beauty under the sweetheart above the friend as for the running man, step beauty was waived without conveying the thinking which is concealed in the chest. The lonesome face of the step beauty which was shown separation occasion, the thought [hi] coming out of that day. The word which you could not say. The running man who is regretful, if the air is attached, chasing step beauty, had produced to run the self recklessly on the one road of countryside!

Not that you really play a game like this for the story. (“Step beauty” is a literal translation of the girl’s name, I think: it could be read “Ayumi”. I don’t really understand the part about attaching air, although the kanji used there is 気, which is “emotion” or “mood”.)

The game itself isn’t particularly novel–although I kind of question a girl who doesn’t notice chests and television sets flying off the back of her truck–but there’s humour in there, and a wonderful piece of background music.

I had heard, once, long ago, that Nami Tamaki had performed a CORE OF SOUL song for her initial audition. I Googled this and found nothing, so I let it drop for a while.

This was, of course, before YouTube got as big as it is now.

Mesdames et messieurs, je vous présente:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRnn1zqAFCQ

Sarah, tell me that it’s okay for me to keep wincing during this thing. Tell me I’m not doing it just because I’m a horribly loyal COS fan (still). Tell me it’s not just because I don’t like Nami Tamaki very much! (Okay, so I know I can’t do better, but still…)

As you might be able to tell, I think the original is much, much better. I think part of it is the piano–some songs just aren’t piano-driven, and sound awful when transposed there. I think the unplugged version of “FULL MOON PRAYER” on One Day, One Love, One Life! is still guitar-driven. I think it’s guitar, anyway. It could be banjo, for all I know. Except I bought the CD, and have the liner notes. Okay, no, it is guitar. There’s a hint of piano in the background but it is a guitar song.

Actually, now that I think about it, the thing I’m most reminded of is Hikaru Utada’s cover of “Boulevard of Broken Dreams”, another piano-accompanied cover. ACTUALLY, I think the opening chords are the same.

(Sarah, I’m starting to see your point about pop songs all having the same chords.)

It has been far too long since I made a layout. Does it show :D?

Anyway, this is really the first time that I have customized a WordPress theme to my liking. The Kaguya theme was styling, more or less, but this one is a bit more adventurous for me. It took a while, but now I’m not nearly as intimidated (to be honest, that fluid center column was far more hassle than it was worth. I still don’t understand why Firefox doesn’t understand the concept of box within box leading to containing box stretching to fit contained box.)

(Sorry for those still using 800×600: I encourage you to choose another theme from the theme switcher.)
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LOVE (aka Fukiko Nakamura, ex-COS vocalist) will release a single in October.

Yay! ♥

Well, ladies and gentlemen, at 7:15 am this morning, I finished reading Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. For those of you keeping track: Yes, I have finally pulled an all-nighter. XD

Coincidentally, I enjoyed the book. 😀

Sooooooooo on one of my random trips to the mall, I stumbled upon a sidewalk sale of books and proceeded to buy two poetry books. One is book of tranlated Quebecois poems about Paris; the other is a collaborative poetry effort between P.K. Page and David Stratford. It’s this last one which interests me the most: it reminds me of when I actually wrote “poetry” and didn’t wince over it.

I would like to set up a renga circle now, but I have a dreadful feeling this is going to be another one of my half-finished projects. Maybe I’ll just admire the poetry.

This must be the most random set of connections ever. It has to be, to lead to atheist goats.
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Well, my research on artificial sweeteners has led to some people spouting very bad chemistry indeed. For my amusement, I present some questions from Splenda Exposed and my responses as a chemist 8D (that’s how I look with lab goggles, by the way).

Is chorine present in Splenda?
I have no idea what “chorine” is. I don’t even think it’s a word.

Ah, but chLorine? Well, there are chlorine atoms in the sucralose molecule.

Will the chorine in Splenda harm human health? Who says “yes” and who says “no”?
Again, what is this “chorine” business?

Does chlorine cause cancer?
Not according to some people. If chlorine caused cancer, wouldn’t swimming pools use ozone instead? And what about chlorinated drinking water, should we worry about that too?

Is the chlorine in Splenda natural or manmade?
What does this question even MEAN? If you find somebody who can create matter, please let me know.

Also, what difference does it make? If I make water from hydrogen and oxygen, is it any better or worse than water that I’ve distilled from a stream?

Does the chlorine in Splenda break down in the human body? (At least fifteen percent does—read on!)
I think this question wants to ask, “Does Splenda break down into ‘chlorocarbons’ in the human body?” Anyway, I have no answer for this–more research is needed on my part.

Is chorine a chlorocarbon?
(I still don’t know what they mean by “chorine.”) No. Chlorine is chlorine. (Duh.) There is no carbon in chlorine. There is carbon AND chlorine in chlorocarbons.

What is a “chlorocarbohydrate”? (Is there such a thing? Highly questionable.)
Why not? Chemists make up names for molecules all the time. Why does it matter what they’re called? Molecules don’t conform to, or draw their properties from, our names for them; names are after-the-fact pronouncements.

If we can have “chlorocarbons” or “chloroflurocarbons” (CFCs), why can’t we have the label “chlorocarbohydrate”?

*bemoans the fact that she is sick on her birthday*

On the other hand, I do get to eat green tea ice cream cake.

I was sorting through papers in my room when I stumbled across this poem we looked at briefly in my intro to French lit class, and it seems oddly appropriate for my mood today:

Ce mois de mai tout se resjoie,
Ce me semble, fors moi, lassette!
All things rejoice this month of May
Except, alas, it seems, for me!
(Trans. A. S. Kline)

too busy to write anything about the trip or the concert and in any case I’d like to do it in French which will take a little bit of time time that I don’t have although time is money but hey I don’t have much of that either at the moment I’m dreading my credit card bill anyway I really should get back to my assignment I can’t very well write a letter to Joe Schmo the customer service representative can I?

Actually, the rumours are true: Vienna Teng is an incredibly lovely, gracious, and talented person.