Last day to post an entry into my October Obsessions Challenge!! Challenge ends at midnight. Throw anything at me; stories, artwork, pictures, you name it. Last chance for fun before NaPoWriMo and NaNoWriMo start in November!

If you've wondered where Takahashi's newest manga's name comes from... I have the answer! Rinne is a Buddhist term used in the poetry form Renga. It means "the name for a loop where the same theme, image, or word is repeated."

Renga is a poetry form that is best done by a gathering of four or more people. It can be highly structured, and each stanza is written on the spot. If you want to learn more about it, go here- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renga.

Only a few days left and only ONE entry to the October Obsessions challenge! C'mon folkses. Consider it a warm up for NaNoWriMo or NaPoWriMo next month.

I submitted my poetry to a poetry critique site. Lo and behold, all I get back are fluffies. Is it too much to ask in this day and age for a real honest to God critique? I'm happy they liked it, fluffies can be nice, but ya don't grow from them.

*grumps*

Reading "Written On The Water" and it's gorgeous. 500 poems from the Man'Yoshu, one of Japan's foremost volumes of poetry.

This will be the last
I shall see of the mallards
On Iware Pond,
For tomorrow I shall be
Hidden behind the clouds

-- Prince Otsu, the night before his execution. 'Hidden behind the clouds' was a metaphor for death in those times.

My dear brother left
For Yamato when still dark
Never to return,
Seeing him off, long I stood,
Till my feet were drenched with dew.

--Princess Oku, on the day Prince Otsu was executed.

At the waters of Mohakitsu
On Mt. Tsukuba, where eagles dwell,
Men and women gather.
Joining hands, they dance away,
Singing lustily.
I will lie with other's wives,
And let men here
Come and woo my wife at will
'Tis our festival,
Which of old the guardian god
Of the mountain
Has never banned.
Today let's be free
And celebrate.

-- Takahashi Mushimaro. This is an actual observance that only fell out of favor in the recent past. Tsukuba-san is in the Kanto district.

The year turns and shadows grow longer. The sun’s heat turns leaves to brown and red and the embered orange of fall. Summer’s flings are over and forgotten or tucked away for age to embroider with the luster of gold. Unless…

Unless there is someone you can’t forget… or who can’t forget you. That uneasy feeling of being watched, a suspicious shadow beneath the willow tree, that clink of silverware in the kitchen that hopefully was the cat… are you being obsessive or obsessed over?

Sometimes comedic, sometimes horrific in consequences, obsessions possess us all. Give me a story of or about obsession. Any genre, any rating, any fandom or original work, poetry, prose, art, or doujinshi. I am placing no limits on anything!

All participants get a banner but there are two special banners to compete for. People’s Choice will be given to a voted favorite. In the case of a tie, an extra vote will be polled. Silver’s Choice will be given to my favorite of the dark/horror genre entries. After all, this is my obsession…

Feel free to cross post this in as many communities and journals as you want. It is an open call to all writers and artists. Entries can be made by commenting in the original post or may be emailed to me. Your due date is October 31, 2009. I can’t wait to see you here!



Entries:




Fiction

Fan Fiction

Pale Shadows

Art

Photographs

It was nice and toasty earlier this week, running in the 80s. Tonight by 6pm it was in the twenties and has been drizzling all day. This is why living in Texas is perilous. Yes, those of you who are at -16, you are colder. But you stay cold in the winter. Being cold is Expected. You don't drop 60 degrees in 24 hrs or less, which is why I reserve the right to say "Damn, it's cold!" even if you are colder.

So, in order to be warm and toasty tonight, mom made Cream of Wheat and buttered toast. Yum. And I'm tucked into a bed with a thermal blanket, fuzzy blanket, and fluffy blanket. Dudes, I'm roasting nicely on such an icy night.

School will be delayed tomorrow for everyone, many businesses closed early tonight and/or will open late tomorrow. The ice will be terrible and it's not worth losing a life.

Stay safe and warm my loveys.

Meme lifted from all my San Antonio flisters.

"Go through the list and check off the titles you have watched. For our purposes, "watching" a title means that for TV and OVA series, you have to have seen at least one episode. For one-shots, you have to have seen the whole thing. At the end of each genre/category, add up your sub-total. At the very end, add up the sub-totals to come up with your grand total. If your grand total is 80 or over, congratulations -- you are an obsessive anime watcher!

As an extra note: not all the titles listed here are great, and some are even steaming piles of crap. Titles on the list are here because they are either 1) genuinely good, 2) insanely popular, 3) good examples of the genre, or 4) just plain notorious. Good anime obsessives should be able to watch series with any of those qualities."
( The List )

So I got 74. 6 short of obsession... but I don't really care cause like they said, some of these are crap. My sidebar has a link to the multitude of anime that I've watched- at least that I can remember watching. I think it's a big enough testament to my obsession, picky as I am. :P Besides, I like the more obscure, deep, psychological screw-you-over shit to mainstream and magical girl stuff. Not knocking the magical girls- I used to be nuts over Sailor Moon- but I prefer Karas, Hellsing, and Rahxephon now.

If you have any questions about stuff I've checked I'll be happy to chat about it.

My phone rang at 3:30 this morning to tell me I had a new message. One that came in at 7 the previous night.

I hate this feature. I don't need it to ring me and tell me I missed a message or that there's a new one. *gets teary eyed* Three freaking thirty in the morning folks!

Thanks for listening to my rant.

-- Desperately looking for pillow

This is a must try! Of course, for those of you with families this may be more of an appetizer scenario... but oh it's good.

I mashed up an avocado with half a very juicy lime and a full pinch kosher salt- mashed not quite smooth, but not very chunky. I spread it lavishly on a circle of Melba toast and topped it with a very mild cheddar and a full pinched up circle of thinly sliced roast beef. Steamed Brussels sprouts were my side dish and emphasized the slight hints of lime from the avocados nicely.

My tummy and taste buds are in rapture.

I wonder how Gorgonzola would match up? Mmmmmm.

Oh, my ribs ache! *snorts and starts laughing again*

That's rich! Oh, ho ho ho ho ho. *owwie!*

Oh, man. Sesshoumaru is probably dying to kill that fanfic author. Yes, he's been put in many positions by we hacks, but it's been a loooong time since I've seen someone try to put him as Inuyasha's father. *whispers* He was slipping around the Big Dog to get to the woman he lurved.

Their battles are father/son bonding. HAH!

*wheezes and giggles around the bruised ribs*

I had some Cheddar Cheese ramen. I saw my Shiso Furikake sitting on the cabinet and said what the hell. The taste was very strong, but not terrible. But oh, my aching tummy.

This goes on the list of not-good ideas.

Okay, I have something in mind but don't have it hammered out enough to want to discuss it. *shitty grin* Suffice it to say I need short folk sayings. Example: Let sleeping dogs lie. I'd really love to get some unique ones- although if they are extremely regional you might want to give me the meaning of them. They can even be slurrings or abbreviations... for example my dad used PDQ (pretty damn quick) often. "You kids better ___ PDQ!" Regionalisms welcomed too- jooeatet (did you eat yet) for example.

*giggles* I want lots and lots of them please! And no, I'm not giving hints as to why I need them. :P

Impromptu on a Hangover

"I block out the midday brightness with a screen depicting dark woods,
burn a stick of heavy incense, nursing my hangover.
What's this? As evening comes I'm ready for a drink again!
Beyond the wall I hear the cry of someone selling clams." -- P'i Jih-Hsiu (c. 833-883)

Well, I’ve not been hungover, but the scenario seems to work well with the visualization of depression too. And now? Late afternoon seems to be flirting with the evening and I’m becoming more aware of life.

A good thing about this break is that I have become more in tune with what I used to love. I began reading again and my creative streak is bubbling back up. Colors are blending and rippling instead of jaggedly clashing and my adoration for simple lines and unusual combinations has shown back up. I’ve gotten a little more of a backbone, but still need to reach out to people more.

Am I better? I’d like to think so, though I have a ways to go. I still need a better medical handle for the depression, but the techniques I’ve learned in classes help get me through days that are bad. If anyone is interested, I’ll gladly share them. They’ve done a great deal in helping me recognize behavior patterns that are damaging as well as making me more aware of what I am misreading into people and their actions.

I’ve been working on PB: TL with Fenikkusuken and having a grand time of it. It’s roundaboutly lead me into a study of Kodo, the Way of Incense (along with a purchase of Nippon Kodo incense). It’s an absolutely absorbing subject of study, with deep roots in Buddhism and Chinese medicine. It is well covered in the Tale of Genji as well. I can see Inuyasha’s mother as an incense maker, as it was an art practiced by the majority of the nobility. It exploded in popularity during the Sengoku Jidai due to the invention of stick incense, which made it much more affordable to the common man.

Can’t you see Inuyasha quitting the village when Sango had to make her anti-youkai pellets? They seem to be a type of incense to me, now that I’m learning the different types. *giggles*

It’s so nice to be in October. I’ve so missed cool weather and happy faces. I’ve been working on a recipe for roasted pumpkin and brussel sprouts. I know I want cumin and ginger to accentuate the pumpkin, but I have to keep thinking of how to perfect it… at least in my head… before I start trying to actually make it. Call me lazy, but preparing fresh pumpkin isn’t on my list of ‘things to do multiple times’.

I must extend my sincere gratefulness to ravynstoneabbey for stepping in and keeping firsttweak up and running. I truly have been gone; I haven’t signed in or read anything from LJ this entire time, so I’m going to cruise around and try to get more in tune with everyone again. If I can keep up with LJ without getting stressed or anxious, then I’ll come back and give you as long of a break as you want! Thank you again, and thanks to all of you who keep writing for it!

Don't really have anything interesting to talk about. It's hot. Burn ban is kinda iffy... they don't want anyone doing any fireworks at their house... they even waited a week to open the stands. We are just severely behind on rain. But I did see some of the "official" fireworks going off near my place.

Miss Ft. Hood though. I'm utterly spoiled by the huge show they always put on, but gas is just too expensive to drive down. Miss seeing men in BDUs on a regular basis too- but that's a whole 'nother matter. XD

Cleaned a bit, slept a lot, enjoyed the benis of being a state employee. Rodents got cleaned... I hear them happily spinning their wheels now. *needs to oil Chit's*

Rearranged manga. I think it's taking up the whole bookcase now. 8 shelves. *headdesk* Might need intervention... this is more addiction than guilty pleasure. Who knew that a kid that routinely read biographies and classics in 7th grade would be addicted to manga in her 30s? Well, great thing is that I make the money needed to support the habit. It would have sucked getting addicted at 12, knowing the state of the Internet in the 80s. *cracks a grin*

Chicken Spinach Alfredo Pizza is really, really good.

pace pace pace pace

click refresh sigh

pace pace pace pace pace

twitch twitch staaare

click click refresh

deep breath stare at TV

glance glance glance

click refresh click

jitter jitter jitter

clickclickclickclickclickclickclickclick


I WON!!! Volumes 1-51 of Inuyasha tankouban are mine!!!! *flip pounce dance yays*

http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1120955/Fanpire01

She stole Kuro's (moonphased's) funny bits!! Probably the rest of her stuff is stolen too. I reported her and left some reviews telling her off.


Leaving this public for now just so people will realize how much I abhore plagiarism. *shakes fist*

They are having an anime poetry slam at Ikkicon! Quick, which poem should I take?? Everything is at sablecorner! Hit poetry or poem and they will come up.

I can't make up my mind. Award winner, new work, weird stuff??? Ack, those of you familiar with my work, HELP PLEASE!

*dithers* Maybe 'Life', my Kikyou poem? It reads like a story... but it's beautiful. *blushes* I don't know about 'Hero'... it's old now. More pendantic than 'Life'. I love my tanka, but I don't think it would work at a poetry slam.

AAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ok folks, the Inu/Kags challenge com firsttweak is ready to go. Still have quite a bit to do with art and such, but it'll work for getting the first challenge online. Yes! There is a challenge up and you can start posting Friday!

To my flist Modly Mods, I modestly ask for a mention of this modern community of motly writers. Let's go back to our canon roots and see what stories we left behind.

Hey folks, my dearest Quirkyslayer had a neat idea that I ran with. I am creating a contest community for Inu/Kags called firsttweak. I've got it partially up and am accepting members. I should have the rules and so forth posted in time to start the first challenge next week! I'm really interested in the varied ways people see this couple these days. Ja!