ANIME BINGE ... Fairy Tail!

So I was sick over the weekend and couldn't really go anywhere or do anything. I watched a lot of Hulu, but eventually settled on catching up on Fairy Tail. Fairy Tail is an anime based on the manga written by Hiro Mashima. If you haven't see it, you should. It's a little more shonen than I usually like, but its hilarious and has something for everyone. I had watched 88 episodes (to be precise) over a couple of years, and not seen any in awhile.

I ended up completely binge watching ... In three days I watched 51 episodes. Keep in mind I was sick, and I kept falling asleep, otherwise it probably would have been even more. So 51 eps at approximately 20 minutes each (I fast forwarded through the intro and outro) is about 17 hours. I even started looking at fanart and fanfic because it was so frustrating to not see Lucy and Natsu's relationship developing more. My otaku sixth sense tells me it ain't ever gonna happen; that we'll be kept in limbo indefinitely, and I guess that's okay. But it's not fair! Why do Erza and Jellal get to have their thing? I mean its not consummate, but its more than I can hope for with Nalu. I guess that's what fanfic is for. Just stay away from the lemons. I wasn't familiar with the term when I started reading. They are horrible and yet ... you can't stop reading. I've never thought about writing fanfic. I might like to try it sometime. But not that kind.

I haven't done this much anime binging since I watched the first three seasons of Bleach. That was worse, much worse actually, because it was at least 6 or 7 or 8 years ago and there was no Hulu or Netflix or Crunchy Roll. I was downloading episodes through bit-torrents on Bleach fan websites and watching them throughout the night, then going to work on little to no sleep. Come to think of it, that's another anime I need to catch up on. I don't remember where I stopped. Somewhere after Aizen was finally frozen or whatever they did to incapacitate him since apparently he couldn't be killed.

Its going to have to wait until my Fairy Tail binging stops. I can't watch 5.6 hours a day like I did last weekend, but its up there with food, water and shelter in terms of priorities. I'm down to 4 episodes a night, which allows me to appreciate the battles, the humor, and the ridiculousness much more.

J. L. Dodd

Very moving from the ep I watched last night:

“It's for my friends! For seven years...all that time...they waited for us! It was hard on them... They had sad times... They got humiliated, but they just endured it... And kept protecting the guild... It's for my friends! I want to show them...that Fairy Tail will live on!! That's why I gotta move forward!!” 
― Natsu Dragneel

Love for H.P. Lovecraft

So, it's embarrassing ... But I have to admit how I got turned on to the works of H.P. Lovecraft. I heard about him on an episode of "Supernatural." The first thing I did after watching it was Google him to find out if he was real and then downloaded a collection of his stories on my Kindle, all within a matter of minutes.

Never have I read anything like his writing. It's all over the place, insane, horrifying, painfully detailed, drawn out and awesome all at once. The adjectives he uses build a deep sense of dread and impending doom. Some of my favorite phrases are "sentient blackness" "mad grotesqueness" "subtly menacing" "purposeful malignity" and "sinister suggestiveness." You get the picture. 

One significant plot device he uses frequently in his stories is what I would call extreme foreshadowing, meaning the reader often comes to a horrifying conclusion about what it going on far before the main character does. You would think this might be a problem. I hate it when I can predict what will happen in a story, but his writing is different. You know the awful truth, but the character is oblivious or living in denial and there is nothing you can do to make them come to their senses before the author wishes it. We know we are reading a horror story, but the characters are frustratingly level-headed about everything until it's too late. 

I experienced a sychronistic event with the works of Mr. Lovecraft. In The Mountains of Madness, the overgrown penguins and some other creatures say "teke-lili!," which apparently is a phrase born of elder creatures who once lived on our planet, some of which were frozen in the antarctic, found by an expedition and thawed out with dire consequences. For some reason that phrase seemed to stick with me. Later, I read a story by Edgar Allen Poe; an awful tale of a stowaway on a ship who, after horrifying hardships at sea, sailed south until the water turned warm, ash fell from the sky and natives called out "teke-lili!" in fear. I was intrigued enough to look up the phrase online, and found little other than references to the two authors. More recently, I read Nevermore, a book by Kelly Creagh (it was interesting, but still went on my "meh" bookshelf on Goodreads) and the demons in the dream world again use the phrase. Looking back, it all makes sense. I didn't know at the time, but Lovecraft was a fan and greatly influenced by Poe's work. And of course, Nevermore was about Poe.

I think anyone who aspires to be an author should read some of Lovecraft's work. It's so very different, and will change the way you think about writing. 

Mind: blown, dude.

J. L. Dodd

“Almost nobody dances sober, unless they happen to be insane.”

― H.P. Lovecraft

"Never explain anything." 
― H.P. Lovecraft

“The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of the infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far.”

― H.P. Lovecraft, The Call of Cthulhu and Other Weird Stories

Review XP Monster Mash 2015 - Linkin Park

Last November I was fortunate enough to attend a music festival in Phoenix called "Monster Mash." It wasn't the kind of thing I would normally go to, but Linkin Park was headlining, so I decided I couldn't miss it.
It ended up being freakin' awesome. It was the day after Halloween. We didn't really watch the first two bands, but then Deftones came on. I've heard a few of their songs before and I wasn't that moved, but their live show was impressive. Tons of screaming, which is always good. Then it was Rob Zombie. He was a trip, the good kind. My son even said afterward, "It's all about Rob Zombie." This is a kid who listens exclusively to top 40 crap.

I've seen Linkin Park live before, but they were truly amazing. First they came out in full zombie make-up.

Then they gave an really bad-ass show. One of my favorite parts was the crazy DJ solo (40 minute mark).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3E2rQF4-QJE

I felt a little strange afterward. As we were walking out, my mind was somewhere else. I felt a sense of awe and a disconnection from reality. Maybe it was just the effect of the loud music on my brain, but MAYBE it was something more. I'm probably gonna get in trouble for this, but after some reflection, I likened it to a religious experience.

This is straight from Wikipedia:

Psychologist and Philosopher William James described four characteristics of mystical experience in The Varieties of Religious Experience. According to James, such an experience is:

Transient — the experience is temporary; the individual soon returns to a "normal" frame of mind. It is outside our normal perception of space and time.
Ineffable — the experience cannot be adequately put into words.
Noetic — the individual feels that he or she has learned something valuable from the experience. Gives us knowledge that is normally hidden from human understanding.
Passive — the experience happens to the individual, largely without conscious control. Although there are activities, such as meditation (see below), that can make religious experience more likely, it is not something that can be turned on and off at will.

I can say with certainty that I experienced 3 of the 4 characteristics. The only one I'm not sure about is "noetic" being that I'm not sure if I learned anything that I didn't already know. I did learn that religious (or spiritual, or mystical) experiences come in many different forms. For me, it was a concert. For someone else, it might be experiencing nature. For someone else, it might happen in a church. Keep your mind open, and don't judge, people.

J. L. Dodd

“If I should ever die, God forbid, let this be my epitaph:
THE ONLY PROOF HE NEEDED
FOR THE EXISTENCE OF GOD
WAS MUSIC”
― Kurt Vonnegut

Anime I love ... Blood +

So I was messing around on my Pinterest earlier and I found an awesome friend who has a Blood + board. (She's awesome 'cause she also has a Labyrinth board, something I had to share with my sister. RIP The Goblin King) Anyway, Blood + is one of those rare anime that did not originate as a manga. It was inspired by a shitty-ass movie that yes, I watched, called Blood: The Last Vampire. There are slow parts, as with all anime, but the protagonist kicks ass, the monsters are really freakin' scary and the excruciating there but not there romance, even with the typical love triangle, is awesome. It's been years since I watched it, but seeing the stills from Pinterest reminded me how much I enjoyed it.

Saya is not a normal girl. She has amnesia, and grows up with an adoptive family. Everything is peachy keen until she is attacked by a scary-ass monster called a chiropteran. Turns out her blood is special because it causes the chiropterans' blood to crystallize and shatter. Therefore, she is charged with their eradication and is given a special katana that she pricks her finger on so her blood can flow through it. Her guardian, or chevalier, named Haji, is one of two love interests and is always coming to her rescue. The other is her childhood friend/adopted brother Kai. Spoiler: when does the childhood friend ever get the girl?

Saya is frustrating because she is not so interested in her relationships (definitely not shojo). After an especially horrific event, she pulls away from everyone, focusing only on killing. I can't remember the ending... I really need to watch it again.

Definitely dark and crosses the line into horror, which is right up my alley.

J. L. Dodd

P.S. I was reading this over and I used the word "ass" way too much but I don't give a shit... I'm leaving it.

 "Though I can't do anything, I'll stay by your side all the time, with you and Riku. When everything is over, let's go home to Okinawa..." - Kai

Blue moon

One of the things I researched endlessly while writing is La Luna. I learned quite a bit about our friend the moon, all of it fascinating. For instance, did you know the moon was formed by a massive collision of the Earth and another smaller planet over a million years ago? Okay, fine, everybody knows that. But did you know that the moon is slowly but surely moving away from the Earth? And that this will cause the Earth to spin more slowly, adding more time to each day? Of course it is fractions of a second per lifetime, so we'll never notice.

I was especially interested in the phenomenon of the "blue moon." Turns out the phrase generally refers to an extra full moon in a month, which happens about once a year. Boring. 

The literal blue moon occurs much less frequently, and only due to particles in the atmosphere usually relating to a volcanic eruption. So, like hardly ever. After the eruption that destroyed Pompeii, the moon actually appeared violet for 2 weeks. And when an eruption occurred in Russia 20 years ago, the moon appeared red. So my end of the world disaster scenario includes multiple volcanic eruptions and a red, red moon. Awesome, right? 

Because of my writing, I've become borderline obsessed with the moon and everything about it, to the point that when the moon is full, I talk to it and make it a point to write. I guess in that sense, it has become my muse. 

Screw you resistance.

J. L. Dodd

“The moon does not fight. It attacks no one. It does not worry. It does not try to crush others. It keeps to its course, but by its very nature, it gently influences. What other body could pull an entire ocean from shore to shore? The moon is faithful to its nature and its power is never diminished.” 


― Ming-Dao Deng, Everyday Tao: Living with Balance and Harmony

“She didn't quite know what the relationship was between lunatics and the moon, but it must be a strong one, if they used a word like that to describe the insane.” 


― Paulo Coelho, Veronika Decides to Die

Music I love ... Minecraft & AFI

When I decided to write my own drivel, I worked very hard at first. From fall 2011 to summer 2013 I worked tirelessly each week, researching, writing, discussing with my sistertard. During that time I remember two things: My dog Suzy was always next to me as I wrote, regardless of where I was and my background music was Minecraft. The kids played it day and night for at least two years. If you aren't familiar with it, take a listen.

I think "Haggstrom" and "Minecraft" are my favorites. When the kids moved on to different games, I purchased the soundtrack from iTunes. It turned out to be very good thinking music. Although when I'm writing about Maiki and her issues with men, I prefer AFI. Like "I Hope You Suffer." So twisted and emotionally sick. It's wonderful.

I wonder what other authors listen to when writing. I think I need to find out.

Jess

"I Hope You Suffer" - AFI

I got two letters from you
Last words of the runaway
Your love was written so true
And now I can't speak your name
I faced destruction and you just killed me and walked away
I gave my heart to the cruel
Now it will not beat again

I hope you do
I hope you suffer
I hope you do
I hope you suffer
I hope you do
I hope you suffer
I hope you do
Just like I suffered

No one will ever know you
Deny the last one who cares
Intoxicate with the new
Pretend I'm no longer here
I opened my heart to you
You lied just to reach inside

Now with the faith you removed our hope for forgiveness dies

I hope you do
I hope you suffer
I hope you do
I hope you suffer
I hope you do
I hope you suffer
I hope you do
Just like I suffered

I've seen my darkest days
You gave each one to me
I've seen my darkest days
You gave each one to me
You have been lost for days
May you find my darkness

I hope you do
I hope you suffer
I hope you do
I hope you suffer
I hope you do
I hope you suffer
I hope you do
Just like I, I fucking suffered

Just like you
You made me suffer
I hope you, I hope you do