Reading and Stuff
Jun. 12th, 2019 08:46 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lydamorehouseI was supposed to go over to a friend's house for anime viewing tonight, but I had to cancel. Mason has some kind of farewell to the Robotics seniors at Washington tonight and he asked me to play taxi. Normally, I'd ask him to make his way by train or bus, but it's a bit of a hassle to get from his work (the Science Museum) to Washington and the longer he's in transit the less of the party he can attend. At the point, I might as well stay home to fetch him when he's done, too, so he can stay longer.
Otherwise, it's been a much slower week than last week, that's for sure! And maybe this is the other reason I feel so quick to cancel tonight. I could use the down time to just stare at the wall.
We're two weeks out for our trip to Michigan and Indiana. I need to spend some time (maybe tonight, now that it's free) plotting out our course in order to hit the most roadside attractions as possible. We're also entertaining taking the "slow boat" home, too, rather than just doing our usual fast push through Illinois and Wisconsin. This will probably end up being the big road trip the family will take this year. Mason has been making noises about wanting to do a big trip to California or the East Coast with just me, as well, but we'll have to see what time and money allows.
It is Wednesday, so I should probably remark on some of the things I've been reading/consuming. I've been in a weird mood, writing-wise. I haven't wanted to write much of anything, not even fan fic, and I can't tell if I'm feeling kind of done with Bleach (*gasp* is that possible??) or if I'm just having one of my occasional fallow periods.
I've been assuming the later, which means I've been reading and viewing widely in the hopes of filling the creative well.
Manga:
I read the first five volumes of Gokusen by Morimoto Kozueko but then decided I didn't quite care enough to read to the bitter end. To be fair, the person who recommended this to me, recommended the anime, which I believe is only one season. It's hard to find as an anime online these days, since it came out in the early 2000s (I think), and doesn't seem to have remained popular enough for Crunchyroll to keep it in their catalog, as it were. The manga was fine? Reminded me, in a positive way, of all the other yakuza out of water stories I've read, including Gokushufudo: The Way of the House Husband by Oono Kousuke (funny! Highly recommend) and Hinamatsuri by Ohtake Masao.
I also read on recommendation: Loved Circus by Asada Nemui which is a yaoi about a guy who ends up working in a brothel, which sounds way smuttier than this story actually is. I mean, it is that, but it also had a surprising amount of story and I liked it quite a bit.
I also caught up on chapters of Morose Mononokean / Fukigen na Mononokean by Kiri Wazawa, which has become a favorite. I'm watching the anime, as well. It's basically yet-another-magical-boy who can see yokai, but in this one he runs into an exorcist, the master of the mononokean, who's job it is to protect the yokai. There's also some intrigue with the Underworld and the characters therein, that I find compelling. I recommend it, but not if you're tired of this troupe.
Anime:
Thanks to the regular gathering I've been watching/sampling a LOT more anime these days. Normally, I just don't make a huge amount of time for TV in my life. Not for any particularly righteous reason, but I just tend to be more likely to go to a manga site than an anime one when I'm goofing around on the internet. Probably because I do most of my manga reading on my laptop, and watching on my iPad--which I have to make a conscious effort to grab/set up.
What I've watched:
Shonen Onmyouji : Because of a continued interest in characters related to Abe no Seime, we watched an episode of this, which follows the grandson of Abe no Seime who is trying to make his own reputation in a world where his grandpa is literally the most famous wizard ever (Abe no Seime was a real historical figure, but he's become a Merlin character in a lot of anime.) The master of the Mononokean carries the surname Abeno, so one assumes that we're supposed to make the connection (apparently Ashiya is a well-known sidekick of the historical Abe no Seime, and that's the name of our hero.) Similarly, I'm very hooked on Midnight Occult Civil Servants / Mayonaka no Occult Kōmuin by Yōko Tamotsu whose main character is a distant relative of Abe no Seime, as well.
Then, because they're a series of very short episode, we also watched all of This Boy is a Professional Wizard / Kono Danchi Mahou ga Oshigoto desu, which is apparently a part of a number of indie OVA all entitles "This Boy is..."
On my own, I've been catching up on the third season of Free! Dive into the Future which I somehow missed when it first aired. I'm on episode four or something like that.
On our anime night, we also watched the first episode of Good Omens, which I enjoyed. I'll be disappointed if they continue without me, but I am the party pooper so it may be the wages of sin, as it were.
Podcasts:
I am also all caught up on the Amnesty arc of "The Adventure Zone," a roleplaying podcast. I also listened to the first couple episodes of "The History of English," which was recommended to me byoffcntr and which I'm enjoying.
I think that's mostly it. How's about you? Read/watch/listen to anything good?
Otherwise, it's been a much slower week than last week, that's for sure! And maybe this is the other reason I feel so quick to cancel tonight. I could use the down time to just stare at the wall.
We're two weeks out for our trip to Michigan and Indiana. I need to spend some time (maybe tonight, now that it's free) plotting out our course in order to hit the most roadside attractions as possible. We're also entertaining taking the "slow boat" home, too, rather than just doing our usual fast push through Illinois and Wisconsin. This will probably end up being the big road trip the family will take this year. Mason has been making noises about wanting to do a big trip to California or the East Coast with just me, as well, but we'll have to see what time and money allows.
It is Wednesday, so I should probably remark on some of the things I've been reading/consuming. I've been in a weird mood, writing-wise. I haven't wanted to write much of anything, not even fan fic, and I can't tell if I'm feeling kind of done with Bleach (*gasp* is that possible??) or if I'm just having one of my occasional fallow periods.
I've been assuming the later, which means I've been reading and viewing widely in the hopes of filling the creative well.
Manga:
I read the first five volumes of Gokusen by Morimoto Kozueko but then decided I didn't quite care enough to read to the bitter end. To be fair, the person who recommended this to me, recommended the anime, which I believe is only one season. It's hard to find as an anime online these days, since it came out in the early 2000s (I think), and doesn't seem to have remained popular enough for Crunchyroll to keep it in their catalog, as it were. The manga was fine? Reminded me, in a positive way, of all the other yakuza out of water stories I've read, including Gokushufudo: The Way of the House Husband by Oono Kousuke (funny! Highly recommend) and Hinamatsuri by Ohtake Masao.
I also read on recommendation: Loved Circus by Asada Nemui which is a yaoi about a guy who ends up working in a brothel, which sounds way smuttier than this story actually is. I mean, it is that, but it also had a surprising amount of story and I liked it quite a bit.
I also caught up on chapters of Morose Mononokean / Fukigen na Mononokean by Kiri Wazawa, which has become a favorite. I'm watching the anime, as well. It's basically yet-another-magical-boy who can see yokai, but in this one he runs into an exorcist, the master of the mononokean, who's job it is to protect the yokai. There's also some intrigue with the Underworld and the characters therein, that I find compelling. I recommend it, but not if you're tired of this troupe.
Anime:
Thanks to the regular gathering I've been watching/sampling a LOT more anime these days. Normally, I just don't make a huge amount of time for TV in my life. Not for any particularly righteous reason, but I just tend to be more likely to go to a manga site than an anime one when I'm goofing around on the internet. Probably because I do most of my manga reading on my laptop, and watching on my iPad--which I have to make a conscious effort to grab/set up.
What I've watched:
Shonen Onmyouji : Because of a continued interest in characters related to Abe no Seime, we watched an episode of this, which follows the grandson of Abe no Seime who is trying to make his own reputation in a world where his grandpa is literally the most famous wizard ever (Abe no Seime was a real historical figure, but he's become a Merlin character in a lot of anime.) The master of the Mononokean carries the surname Abeno, so one assumes that we're supposed to make the connection (apparently Ashiya is a well-known sidekick of the historical Abe no Seime, and that's the name of our hero.) Similarly, I'm very hooked on Midnight Occult Civil Servants / Mayonaka no Occult Kōmuin by Yōko Tamotsu whose main character is a distant relative of Abe no Seime, as well.
Then, because they're a series of very short episode, we also watched all of This Boy is a Professional Wizard / Kono Danchi Mahou ga Oshigoto desu, which is apparently a part of a number of indie OVA all entitles "This Boy is..."
On my own, I've been catching up on the third season of Free! Dive into the Future which I somehow missed when it first aired. I'm on episode four or something like that.
On our anime night, we also watched the first episode of Good Omens, which I enjoyed. I'll be disappointed if they continue without me, but I am the party pooper so it may be the wages of sin, as it were.
Podcasts:
I am also all caught up on the Amnesty arc of "The Adventure Zone," a roleplaying podcast. I also listened to the first couple episodes of "The History of English," which was recommended to me by
offcntr and which I'm enjoying. I think that's mostly it. How's about you? Read/watch/listen to anything good?
no subject
Date: 2019-06-12 06:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-12 07:02 pm (UTC)We do the drive through/around Chicago a lot, since we have relatives in Valparaiso, IN (who we will also be visiting on this trip.) I'm not anxious to do it again, though we may end up going that way home. We are considering/weighing other options, including potentially going out of our way to visit Iowa just so we can skip Chicago (which I love visiting on its own, but I HATE driving through.)
Instead of doing the UP, which sounds fun and I totally want to do some time, we're thinking about roaming around the kitschy areas of northern Wisconsin and then doing some exploring on the eastern coast of Wisconsin as well (I'm originally from southwest Wisconsin, so I know a lot of that stuff already.)I wish we had time to do Door County, but I hear it gets stupid busy in the summer.
Your trip sounds amazing!
no subject
Date: 2019-06-12 07:28 pm (UTC)Sunday: drive to Bayfield, WI and stay in a B&B. Probably take the ferry to Madeline Island and just wander around a little bit.
Monday: drive through the UP and over the Mackinac Bridge, spend the night in a Mackinaw City Ramada. Looks like there are a few minor tourist sights in Mackinaw - little museums and waterside parks, that kind of thing.
Tuesday: Drive down to the border crossing at Sarnia and spend the night in a Holiday Inn. Nothing planned for Sarnia - it just puts us across the border and within a 3 hour drive of Niagara Falls.
Wednesday: Drive to Niagara Falls and check in to a posh looking fallside Embassy Suites (using up some Hilton points to spring for a falls view). That should give us most of Wednesday and Thursday to see Niagara Falls, which I remember from my childhood as a jarring mix of natural splendor and cloyingly kitschy touristiana.
Thursday: Another small hotel on the Canadian side.
Friday: Get up early and sprint across lower Michigan to catch the 4 pm ferry. Spend the night at a Hyatt in Milwaukee. Which was actually the inspiration for the trip, because I have a free Hyatt night that has to be used up ASAP. There's probably something to see in Milwaukee, right? I've never actually been there except to ride past it on the train.
Saturday: Drive across Wisconsin to the Minnstf meeting in New Richmond, stopping along the way in Madison or at the Mustard Museum or one of those weird sculpture gardens made out of rusted metal that Wisconsin seems to be full of. Any suggestions?
And then home from the Minnstf meeting, of course. It's about an hour's drive.
no subject
Date: 2019-06-12 07:24 pm (UTC)Restaurant review for those heading to NE WI or the UP: Hereford & Hops in Escanaba serves one of the best steaks I have ever eaten. Fun: the giant grill where you can cook your own. Even more fun: you can drink your beer while doing so.
K.
no subject
Date: 2019-06-12 10:35 pm (UTC)