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It's taken me three days of sheer bloodymindedness, but I managed to to fix my Dell Inspiron 600m (ie, my old laptop) since it broke down right before Dad and I left on our trip. It's pretty old and the original software was for Windows XP service pack 1, which caused me no end of grief. I only got it installed properly around noon and will spend the rest of the day installing stuff (mostly windows updates since I've decided not to overload the poor thing. It only has 30GB of memory after all).
Postgrad search is interesting. So far, my only options are the University of Hawaii, Berkeley, and possibly the University of Toronto (one of these things is not like the other...). I'm more partial to Hawaii or Berkeley because of the programs on offer, but we shall see. My only other option is waiting another year and hoping they hire some new Japanese archaeology people at other universities. This is, of course, leaving out the problem of funding and money. o_o
Finished reading Cory Doctorow's Little Brother and have decided that it mostly reads like a low key guide to what to do when your government goes 1984 on your arse. I found the book strangely soothing, but that might be because I dream about revolutions all the time and this book was exactly like reading one of my dreams (only, there's usually more fighting and death in my dreams, natch.) Currently reading The City of Ember.
Watched When the Last Sword is Drawn last night. It's one of those movies I've owned for ages (because you snap up cheap Japanese movies when you can get them) but didn't get around to watching until now. I liked the idea behind it, of Saitou wandering into a clinic and spotting a picture of a dead comrade and then telling the story through various people's flashbacks. There were lots of references to history and it was interesting to see, though the idea of Saitou killing Ryoma Sakamoto is ridiculous. I would have liked more on Saitou to tell the truth, rather than the long, drawn out death scene of the other guy (I have no doubt Japanese audiences were sobbing their eyes out during this scene cause I've seen it happen while watching dramas with them. Dad was crying but I was annoyed cause I have no patience for pre-seppuku soliloquies no matter how good the actor is.). Oh, and the movie totally glossed over the Boshin war and the actual final battles of the Shinsengumi. The side roles in the movie which were only glancingly portrayed like Okita were excellent, as were the main actors. Also, those were some nice fight scenes and it was fun to listen to what we'd now consider overly formal Japanese being used by the servants and women, etc.
What else has Ariana been doing? Watching Survivorman. Rewatched Casino Royale, The Hunt for Red October, Practical Magic, and Kung Fu Hustle. Searched in vain for my own copy of Emperor's New Groove (surely I own this, right? right?). Finished watching the first season of Pretender. Went to the comic book store, spent too much money, and was hit on by the clerk. Read parts of Kurosaki Corpse Delivery Service in Japanese. Made some lj icons. Stared more at my book. Read Bleach fic.
Postgrad search is interesting. So far, my only options are the University of Hawaii, Berkeley, and possibly the University of Toronto (one of these things is not like the other...). I'm more partial to Hawaii or Berkeley because of the programs on offer, but we shall see. My only other option is waiting another year and hoping they hire some new Japanese archaeology people at other universities. This is, of course, leaving out the problem of funding and money. o_o
Finished reading Cory Doctorow's Little Brother and have decided that it mostly reads like a low key guide to what to do when your government goes 1984 on your arse. I found the book strangely soothing, but that might be because I dream about revolutions all the time and this book was exactly like reading one of my dreams (only, there's usually more fighting and death in my dreams, natch.) Currently reading The City of Ember.
Watched When the Last Sword is Drawn last night. It's one of those movies I've owned for ages (because you snap up cheap Japanese movies when you can get them) but didn't get around to watching until now. I liked the idea behind it, of Saitou wandering into a clinic and spotting a picture of a dead comrade and then telling the story through various people's flashbacks. There were lots of references to history and it was interesting to see, though the idea of Saitou killing Ryoma Sakamoto is ridiculous. I would have liked more on Saitou to tell the truth, rather than the long, drawn out death scene of the other guy (I have no doubt Japanese audiences were sobbing their eyes out during this scene cause I've seen it happen while watching dramas with them. Dad was crying but I was annoyed cause I have no patience for pre-seppuku soliloquies no matter how good the actor is.). Oh, and the movie totally glossed over the Boshin war and the actual final battles of the Shinsengumi. The side roles in the movie which were only glancingly portrayed like Okita were excellent, as were the main actors. Also, those were some nice fight scenes and it was fun to listen to what we'd now consider overly formal Japanese being used by the servants and women, etc.
What else has Ariana been doing? Watching Survivorman. Rewatched Casino Royale, The Hunt for Red October, Practical Magic, and Kung Fu Hustle. Searched in vain for my own copy of Emperor's New Groove (surely I own this, right? right?). Finished watching the first season of Pretender. Went to the comic book store, spent too much money, and was hit on by the clerk. Read parts of Kurosaki Corpse Delivery Service in Japanese. Made some lj icons. Stared more at my book. Read Bleach fic.
