Will probably finish chapter 22 of the Geass fic tomorrow. Productivity has increased in recent days; going to the library for 1 hour a day helps.

Also, entirely by accident, I stumbled across an OLD show that I now must watch. Like most mecha shows I fall in love with, I'm in for one thing:

The music.



Boss Battle Music:


Different versions of the Opening:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6z8HYr20usw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cdae0z2S06c&NR=1

The studio who made this show supposedly did animation work for Batman, the cartoon. The influence is obvious, and Big O is a tribute of sorts to many shows. BATMAN PLUS HUGE ROBOTS. And an ANDROID CHICK SIDEKICK. I also learned that the composer who wrote the music for Big O also wrote the music for Full Metal Panic and Gunslinger Girl, two shows highly noted for their outstanding soundtracks.

I've been saving this (?) since I came across a while back.

Tour de Japon - Opening, Bombing Mission (FF7)


I love it when the conductor does the "strut." I was blown away when I first listened to this; I've heard other FF7 music orchestrated, but not this one. I swear, Square (or whoever owns them now) can remake FF7 with just new Orchestral music like this and I will pay out of my A$$ to buy the game, and whatever console I need to play the game.

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/5276835/1/Fantasy

The best Euphie-Lelouch fic, the best Code Geass fic, the best fic I've read in a long time. It's rated M (albeit in my opinion, a tame M), so take note of that.

Cloud's Theme (from FF7 Advent Children)


Aeris' Theme

Things that have made my days better the past few days:
Safeway deli sale on chicken tenders
Albacore Tuna sashimi and Salmon roll from Nijiya
Homemade curry with chicken thigh and liver turning out good
New episodes of Zetsubou Sensei
Latest manga developments in Hayate the Combat Butler
Discovering Tchaikovsky's souvenir d'une lieu Cher on FM 102.1.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcPPzdSO1rA)
Playing "Miles Edgeworth: Ace Prosecutor" (Gyakuten Kenji): The plot and characters are not QUITE as endearing as the original Phoenix Wright series, but Mitsurugi's new girl sidekick is a JOY.

Things that have NOT made my days better:

Reminder that fall recruiting season for Summer 2010 starts now. Collect and submit cover letter, resume, transcripts, writing samples, and what not over next 2 weeks. Interviews (if I get any) begin in 30 days.
Take home final paper due on Wednesday evening.
Learning in lecture that lawyers are statistically far more likely than other professions to be depressed, alcoholic, addicted to drugs (pot, cocaine, prescription drugs), gambling, and (not or) sex.

I'm heartened by the fact that even though I am falling out of love with anime, I will not be falling out of love with classical music in the foreseeable future. The Tchaikovsky I listened to while driving back after class tonight was entrancing; the first movement was romantic and expressive, the second movement was a spectacular technical exercise--to use a video game analogy, it was like watching a pro tackle the last boss on Insane difficulty without losing 1 point of HP.

( Thoughts on If Classical Musicians were in a Shoujo Manga Pt. 2 )

Dad: "Do you know how hard it is to save money? Half of American kids borrow through college and grad school and owe the Government 50-100K by the time they're done. The lucky ones like you will make 100K a year. Obama takes 30% of that and California takes 10%. You scrimp and just maybe you'll save 10,000 a year. A small house around here is 1 million. Figure it out."

By promising to leave me a little something and ensuring that I finish law school debt free, dad has supposedly put me ahead of the field by 20 years. Talk about blessings that come with pressure.

Diet: Cal has entered an era of low-carb super high protein dieting. That means chicken breast, whey protein powder, and cottage cheese. Sodium free fat free cottage cheese tastes... apathetic. I enjoy the texture but add blueberries or honey for taste. Two cups before bed. Stuffy, but I seem to sleep better.

The bike ride around SF (I forgot whether I shared about this) went really great, all things considered. I was still too chicken to ride across the bridge due to my genuine fear of heights. There were also huge winds that day, up to 35 mph, which made riding almost a hazard.

Cooking: Coming up; Blanched broccoli salad. With grapes rather than raisins, olive oil rather than mayo, hot coppa rather than fried bacon. It's for a potluck. Google wiki informed me that pretty looking and healthy dishes are a big hit, and Italian always goes first. Let's hope that's true even for 60 year old Taiwanese folks.

CCS: Two ideas simmering: Sonomi visits the Company shrink to talk about her inappropriate fantasies about Fujitaka her issues. 2, what happens when Touya "introduces" Tomoyo to Fujitaka.

Hetalia: The Star Bangled Banner, America's Anthem, was officially recognized in 1931. The lyrics were from a poem, the tune was from a BRITISH DRINKING SONG. I learned that listening to FM 102.1 Classical. Special Relationship indeed.

Mood Theme: I'm starting to use a mood theme someone made. It's 10th Division Bleach: Matsumoto and Hitsugaya. I still love them.

Summer school and work: For two and a half months I expect to receive... 1K. Not even rent. Mreh...

SF Symphony: Will perform BEETHOVEN, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and RACHMANINOV's Piano Concerto #2 (Nodame Cantabile peeps), which is my all time favorite piece of music in July. Am considering skipping a day of work to attend Rachamaninov.

A conversation between Aoife-Hime and I today:

Cal: You know, I had a great idea for a shoujo manga. Since nothing is sacred these days, why hasn't there been a manga based on historic classical musicians? Imagine Haydn, Handel, Mozart, Chopin, Beethoven, etc, drawn as hot guys in an academy setting surrounding some original Japanese heroine. That's it, the plot and whatnot is just minor details. Hayden could be the eldest of the bunch, Mozart is the playboy prodigy, Beethoven is the burdened, troubled youth, Handel is the baby of the bunch, Chopin... oh, I don't know. Historical accuracy is not what matters here. The atmosphere should be a blend of Ouran Host Club and Dragon Ball, a mix of schoolyard romantic comedy and galaxy-shattering showdowns (musically, of course).

Aoife: Chopin would be the really quiet one who sits in the corner of the cafeteria/library writing beautiful emo music and then tells you why his music is better than yours. Handel... I wouldn't say baby... maybe he'd be the super-trendy one (he always had his finger on the popularity pulse of his day & age, which is why he was so damn successful). And Mozart is the twerp who doesn't even have to try and still excels beyond everyone.

Other potential candidates:
Schubert - The biggest partier of them all
Berlioz - Strange foreign exchange student who has lots of unbelievable but true things happen to him and also is quite big on the party scene.
Wagner - The hard-core geek (a la Dungeons & Dragons) of the group, slightly creepy; speaks Elvish & Klingon
Bach - Home-schooled nerd who's really religious
Verdi - Indie-cool kid who's still remarkably popular
Mussorgsky - Guy who mumbles all of the time and nobody understands but then every so often says something truly profound/amazing
Brahms - Your general smart yet socially-awkward nerd
Liszt & Paganini - Extreme drama geeks
Mendelssohn - Pretentious overachiever who's not as smart/talented as Mozart/Beethoven/etc. but still associates with them anyways.

You really shouldn't have started me thinking about this. Because I'm having way too much fun. I even got my friend (who is also a big music history geek) involved with this. TOO MUCH FUN.

Cal: We haven't even gotten to most of the Russians yet. Maybe they're from the rival school. Rachmaninoff is the incredibly tall pianist (they should each have their own specialty instruments, aside from composing and conducting) with huge hands which girls love.

The musicians can have gangs/factions (representing a common school or mentor/pupil relationships) or be loners. Some are extremely popular during their time, some aren't (those whose music was not recognized until after their deaths). They express varying degrees of interest in our heroine, and compete for her affection as fiercely as they do amongst themselves in the realm of music. A reoccurring pattern could look like this:

Paganini: "Alright, Amadeus, let's settle this once and for all! Whoever creates the superior Concerto in one weeks time gets to go out with Mayuko (heroine's name, eg)!"
Heroine: *Shrugs off Paganini's enveloping arm* "Why did I become the prize? I have nothing to do with this!"
Mozart; *Chuckle* "You never learn will you? Didn't you know I was charming the stockings off the ladies in your country while you were still in grade school? You'll always only be an imitation of me. Mwahahaha!!"
Czerny (you spectacle wearing goodie boy who favors writing teaching music for kids): "Come on, Mayuko, let's get out of here. Staying with these derelicts will only cause your brain to rot."

Aoife: Yes, I think the Russians deserve their own school. Except for Mussorgsky, who is, like Berlioz, an exchange student. Maybe Tchaikovsky can be an exchange student too. I just don't know where exactly he'd fit in.

The concept of Paganini & Mozart duking it out over a girl is HIGHLY amusing."