My Day Yesterday: Pizza, Angry Birds, and Zodiac

Managed to play my last bits of Metroid: Other M for Wii. Not a fan. 

Picked up my girlfriend from work, and went out to a pizza place. 

She likes the arcade in there for the ticket machines even though there's nothing she wants to redeem (i.e. pointless addiction to bright lights and tickets), and she only put one dollar on her game card and walked over to some machine. Spun the wheel, and won 1000 tickets in one go. Not bad.

While I was waiting for her to finish eating, I got some playtime with Angry Birds Rio. 

We also went to the library where I got to read the monthly edition of The Progressive, and checked out a few things. 

When we got home, she put some songs on her iPod and I studied some Japanese. Trying to learn Katakana by heart. 

We also watched Zodiac, a movie based on the real life events of the famous serial killer. We almost finished it, but it's pretty good.  

You Won't Be Playing PSVita For Very Long (Until You Have to Charge It)

Apparently the word out of the Tokyo Game Show is that Sony's new handheld won't even go as far as 4 hours of gameplay before the battery dies. Granted that's about the same as the 3DS. 

Fact of the Day: Fugu Is Dangerous

The Japanese word for Puffer-fish; Fugu is used in English terms for when the fish is served as a meal. However in Japan (along with many other countries) there are strict laws about it's preparation. Only skilled chefs may cook fugu because even the tiniest mistake might poison (perhaps fatally) the customer.  

Fact of the Day: Japanese Christian Prime Ministers

Despite being a country with very little members of the Christian faith, they've had a lot of Prime Ministers who believed in Jesus. A notable one includes Ichiro Hatoyama who was a baptist. 

My Thoughts on the Presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Franklin Delano Roosevelt is one of my favorite presidents, and while his presidency has a lot of things to cover, for sake of length I will only talk about the major things. 

It was under FDR that we got Social Security, many labor reforms, and the increase of the American standard of living. 

Despite economic and social-welfare success, the biggest point of his presidency was that of World War II. Unlike our involvement in World War I, we didn't waste any time after getting attacked. 

Thankfully under his leadership, along with our allies we were able to take down Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. 

He also worked very closely with the other leaders of the world. FDR, Churchill, and Stalin were the triple team against the Axis of Evil. Which is a bit ironic since Stalin was one evil dude. 

I'm generally favorable of most of his presidency except for the case of the interment camps which arrested and detained German, Italian, and more notably Japanese-Americans for no real reason. 

It's a bit of shame that FDR died right before the war ended. 

I'm a bit ashamed of my fellow Americans who believe the tainted legacy foretold by Conservative Republicans and Libertarians. Despite your political views, he did a lot, and I admire and respect him for it. 

Katakana Letter of the Day: ア

This symbol means "A"

Fact of the day: White Day

Valentine's Day isn't just for Americans. The holiday is celebrated in Japan as well, except the custom is a bit different. Women are usually the only gift givers and the token of affection is typically chocolate on almost all occasions. The catch is that one month later on March 14th, the male must return the favor. On White Day, you're suppose to give her about 3 times as much as she gave you. Typical gifts include white chocolate, white cookies, white lingerie, and marshmallows. 

Bad Dudes (NES) Review

I only remembered this game for it's infamous quote line. Yes the president has been kidnapped by ninjas, and I'm a bad enough dude to rescue the president. 

The game itself is kinda Double Dragon meets Ninja Gaiden. You run around with punches and kicks while various kinds of ninjas come out of nowhere to put your head on a silver platter. 

The game itself has graphical problems such a glitching which really effects trying to see what any of them are trying to do to you. I for one have a hard time seeing one pixel ninja stars that are half invisible. Good luck getting to the end of the stage though. 

At the end of a stage you are treated to a boss fight, which aren't that bad. I enjoyed fighting the ninja-claw boss dude quite a bit. It's a shame that the game will reset if you die too much. Seven hard stages of brutalness too, not a fan of that. Ronald Reagan can stay kidnapped, I'm a Democrat anyway. 

Score: 4 out of 10

Japanese Words For the Day: Seasons

Winter is Fuyu

Spring is Haru

Summer is Natsu

Fall is Aki

Japanese Words For the Day: Adjectives

Light is Akarui

Small is Chiisai

Cheap is Yasui

 Expensive is Takai

Big is Ookii

Dark is Kurai

Watched Bamboo Blade (Complete Anime Series)

My girlfriend and I saw this at the library. The whole series is only like 26 episodes so it's not super long like many other anime shows. The show is about a high school kendo (think fencing but Japanese style) team and their adventures. 

The main character is Toraji Ishida who is a worthless kendo coach who often begs for food and scared to face life's obstacles. He is more commonly referred to as Kojiro

Then there is Tamaki Kawazoe who Kojiro finds out of the blue after seeing her use her amazing ability at swordsmanship. She also likes anime and manga very much. She joins the team only to serve as an "anime-like protector" after seeing a former member assaulting freshmen. 

Then there is Kirino Chiba who is the team captain despite being a rather wishy-washy fighter depending on her mood. She does have a good heart, and has a lot of comedic appeal. 

Then there is Sayako Kuwahara, more commonly known as "Saya." She quit and rejoined the team due to her personality of being a rather depressive person. One of those starving artist type of people. 

Then there is a Satori Azuma, a young girl who can't pass a test, wears fake glasses, but has very good skills at kendo. 

One of the most notable characters is Danjuro Eiga. A little ugly guy who at first seems weak and frail, but then gets a lot of wisdom and learns a lot of kendo. 

Could you believe this girl right here is Danjuro's girlfriend? Neither can most of the cast. Miyako Miyazaki (often called "Miya Miya") is on the surface a very sweet girl who loves her man. However deep down she has a dark and twisted personality to people who are unkind to her. 

Lastly there is Yuji Nakata who is just one of the boys in the kendo club. He has a lot of experience, but serves mostly as the voice of reason. Often mocking Kojiro for doing dumb things, or having different motives for winning matches. 

Overall it's a decent and memorable anime. It starts out really funny and creative, however there is a plot point that drags it down to a rather depressing mood. I kinda wished the whole series didn't turn all melancholic all of a sudden, but it has a decent ending. 

Japanese Words For the Day: School Time!

Teacher is Kyoushi, but when you address them it's Sensei. 

Student is Gakusei

School is Gakkou

Janitor is Youmuin 

Japanese Words for the Day: More Home Stuff Again

Microwave is Denshi Renji

 

Oven is Oobun

Pillow is Makura

Mirror is Kagami

Radio is Rajio