Three things...

There is SNOW coming down from the sky! Big fluffy clumps of it! You have no idea how excited this makes me. ^__________^ I ♥ snow so much.

And finally it should be getting cold and staying cold throughout the day, so I don't get bundled up to go to class, only to have it warm up during class, so that by the time I'm done, I'm too warm in my hat, scarf, gloves, etc.



This and maybe the 120 deviations at a time viewing is pretty much the only feature I am really interested in that is subscriber-only. Well, ok... polls would be nice, too - but the point is, I've not been willing to fork over money just for the sake of a fancy journal... especially as I so rarely use this journal. Any real journal-ing I'll do will definitely be on my LJ, not here.

In short, I'm so happy to be able to use a journal skin for free, right now. ^__^



I must apologize for being utterly inactive on dA as of late. School has just been really busy, and I've not really finished any artwork I want to put up here, lately. There are some photographs I want to put up, but I haven't gotten around to dealing with making adjustments, possibly adding borders and uploading them.

Over winter break, I'm sure I'll upload some things - and by that time, I should have the picture of Syra finished... finally. ^__^; I fail at doing things in a timely fashion - seriously.



I have an anime series to recommend to y'all, if you've not seen it before.

Mononoke

This has become quite possibly my favorite anime series ever, and I'm sad that it only has 12 episodes. It's interesting to note, however, that this series is a spin-off of the last arc (called the Bakeneko Arc) of another series, entitled 'Ayakashi: Japanese Classic Horror.' And while you don't have to have seen that arc to watch Mononoke, I still recommend watching it for the sake of seeing a bit more of Kusuriuri (whom I'll get to shortly). Also, in the second arc of Mononoke, a few references to the A:JCH arc are made, and it can be nice to know what they're talking about (though unnecessary - I didn't watch the A:JCH arc until after I'd already seen all of Mononke once).

The artwork is unusual and gorgeous, and the stories are compelling, though each arc (which lasts anywhere from two to four episodes) is really a self-contained story. There is only one character who is constant throughout the entire show, and that is Kusuriuri (薬売り ), which translates to Medicine Seller or Apothecary. (I think the official dubs call him Medicine Seller, but I did see one fansub refer to him as Apothecary.) And for the record, he is absolutely awesome!

The gist of things is that he travels around Japan, dealing with various restless spirits (known as 'Mononoke' ) that are are causing trouble (usually of a deadly variety) for humans. However, in order to combat these spirits, he must draw his sword - and to draw his sword, he must first learn the form the Mononoke takes, the truth behind its appearance and the reason for its existence.

The show is thoughtful and beautifully done, and while it may not be for everyone, I do recommend everyone to at least give it a try. Though... don't watch the subs. The dialogue and voices of the original Japanese are much better - especially Kusuriuri's voice. Then again, I'm slightly biased there, because I think Takahiru Sakurai's voice is sexy.

WARNING WARNING WARNING: Be advised that this show deals with mature subject matter. There is some graphic material in here - bloody, disturbing and sometimes kind of disgusting, especially if it happens to hit a squick of yours. However, I don't think encountering a squick in one arc should stop you from watching the others.

Seriously - watch this show. Just... be warned that it contains things of - to quote dA's filters - 'ideologically sensitive material.'