Sigh… randomosity

I should have just rolled the last, one-paragraph article into this one. I’ve wanted to do a few more posts over the last three weeks, but I just don’t have the time. Onii-san has been in the hospital, and I’m spending almost every day down there after work. Nothing serious, you know….just multiple surgeries, including heart bypasses. He looks like Senjougahara Hitagi came for a visit… dual wielding.

Had very little time for Magic the Gathering. Played in only one tourney and got stomped. Meh. Not much computer gaming either — finished the MOM game, started a new Sword of the Stars game, and have advanced to 1946 in a custom/random scenario of Hearts of Iron 3. As Italy, I started in southern Siberia, and now hold territory all the way into Turkey, parts of the Baltic states, the northernmost parts of the Finnish peninsula, and now I’m kicking Syria’s butt, despite them being the strongest country in the game. I developed nukes and liberally sprinkled them about their country, which has them close to collapse. My air force rules the skies, and my navy is slowly gaining the advantage over Ecuador and the USA (which occupy roughly the southern part of Iran, stretching into India).

For a season that looked to suck, it’s been reasonably ok. Still following Fairy Tail, although it’s almost in full DBZ/Naruto “stretch” mode now, where a single battle takes the entire episode; it’s almost caught the manga. Stopped watching Mirrai Nikki, right about the point where I lost interest in the manga for a while. The 5-year-old diary holder was just stupid. High School DxD has been everything Maken-ki wasn’t. The guy in the center “got a grip” — although it’s rather clichéd, how he was willing to risk everything for a cute girl he’d known only one afternoon. Major disappointment: they dropped the pole-dance ED this episode. Maybe it was too hot for the network? Better be on the DVD, that’s all I have to say! And hell, Rias is damn easy on the eyes, especially given her tendency to get naked every episode. Girl likes her showers; she even has one in the clubroom. One thing I’ve noticed… nobody ever seems to attend class in this school.

Miniskirt Space Pirates went through a hideous slow spell, but has picked back up nicely. Re-elect Jenny as club president! Or hell, just President. She couldn’t do worse…. I also watched Ano Natsu de Matteru on Crunchy, and kind of like it. Not a lot of action, though. It sort of reminds me of This Ugly Yet Beautiful World, only done right, and then crossed with Shingu. That’s not really fair to it, because TUYBW was a total angst-filled mess that I failed to get past the first disk when watching it, whereas this is a gentle romcom — the girl just happens to secretly be an alien. The comedy of errors and misunderstanding leading up the the guy’s accidental confession to her was as deftly done as it was funny. Make a note, writers — you do NOT have to bludgeon people over the head with your humor. The fact that both of them are just a bit spacy and prone to letting their imaginations run wild helps move things along nicely, and the supporting cast is spot-on. The first arc finished at the end of the 4th episode, and the preview hints that it’s really going to start rolling now.

Watched a few episodes of Inu x Boku SS. Enh. How sweet, the little rich bitch is finally getting humanized. Well, as human as a half-demon might manage. Finally, Nisemonogatari, after a wasted pair of episodes re-introducing us to the girls, has finally gotten rolling with its trademark sharp dialog. Arragi is relentless as the ultimate mack-daddy to all the strangely troubled women around him, from the 500-year old loli vampire to the classmate of his little sisters. And of course, the sisters themselves, one of whom has bitten off more than she can chew… Not sure I like Hanekawa’s makeover though. She was cuter with the glasses and long hair.