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Sumiki

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Blog Entries posted by Sumiki

  1. Sumiki

    So I Read TFiOS

    By Sumiki,

    There's a number of ways to word the first paragraph of this entry, but suffice it to say that I've been a fan of the vlogbrothers since late last year, when I stumbled across their educational videos and then to their main channel. The great thing about the Green brothers' work is that even if you're not watching one of their myriad educational channels, you still end up learning something. They have a passion and excitement about the world that, frankly, few others have.
     
    The fact that people dislike John Green is not something that particularly bothers me - after all, no one will be universally liked or appreciated. Like everyone, he has flaws - but most of the criticisms I saw of him were blatantly untrue slices of Internet hearsay. Reasons given were illegitimate and that made me kind of sad.
     
    But I really had to withhold judgement, I thought, until I had the chance to read one of Green's novels, books which seem to elicit sharply divided opinions. When I had the opportunity to read The Fault in Our Stars, I would have been remiss if I hadn't taken it.
     
    So I did. I read the whole thing in about six non-consecutive hours. (I'm a pretty fast reader.)
     
    The end result was just sort of ... meh.
     
    Regardless of my positive opinions of him as a video blogger and person, I have to say that he's actually a really bland writer. I'm not going to comment on the story itself because one cannot blame the "problematic" aspects of a story on the writer (which is the origin of most legitimate-looking John Green hate)*, but I can comment on the characters.
     
    Green's characters don't have individual voices. Sickly, bookish, introverted Hazel speaks with the same advanced eloquence as the public-high-school-educated Gus. But it's not just there - alcoholic Van Houten is as well-spoken as his continually frustrated assistant Lidewij, and the parents of the main characters - aside from the tear-prone father of Hazel are practically indistinguishable from one another.
     
    I could legitimize Hazel and Van Houten - perhaps Lidewij as well - but the fact that the dialogue of any one character could be given to any other character with only a little bit of recontextualization is not a good sign. Throughout the whole book, not one person spoke in the way that normal people speak.
     
    It was, by extension, impossible for me to feel any kind of sympathy for these characters. Granted, I haven't cried over a fictional character since I was about four years old, but I was kind of thinking that it would change because everyone always goes bananas over John Green's ability to wrench waterworks from the eyes of his readers.
     
    It's not like I was expecting some kind of modern classic from whence quotes would be hewn for books whose publications are four hundred years distant. But for all the hullabaloo of John Green's writing abilities, I would be lying if I said that I wasn't a tad bit disappointed.
     
    * TFiOS, for its shortcomings, does not romanticize cancer, or illness, or disease in general. I've lost two of my grandparents to cancer, and it's not pretty at any age. Given Green's background, which he has talked about extensively, anyone who claims that TFiOS romanticizes disease is hearing it from someone else and/or completely skipped the passages where the characters discuss just how disturbing/dangerous doing so is.
  3. Sumiki
    -----Our phone alarms went off at seven o'clock in the morning, and after a requisite five minute snooze, coffee was acquired and the day began. We managed to leave Knoxville at 9:00, bearing north for the Kentucky border.
     
    -----Our goal was to get to Cincinnati a little after lunchtime, and the drive was uneventful until we got to the Cincinnati metropolitan area. Our first stop was lunch at Taste of Belgium, an establishment that prides itself on its waffles. It's extremely European; flatscreen televisions flash quotes from cyclists with unpronounceable names interleaved with their list of 40+ draft beers.
     
    -----Most oddly, this location—one of a handful in the Cincinnati area—has these bizarre looping animations that are projected onto the walls. A pair of immense disembodied lips painted the colors of the Belgian flag is the first to greet you once you can get your eyes off their fist-sized scones. The one that truly scarred us was one that I don't think I can describe on BZPower, but suffice it to say that it was outside the bathrooms. Let your mind fill in the blank.
     
    -----While its location in a more businesslike, upscale district subtly clashed with our basic attire of t-shirt and jeans, the food itself did not disappoint. I got the Waffles and Chicken, which is their spin on the classic. The money they spent to get their custom waffle iron shows; it was like a crunchy cake and it went very will with the hot sauce-infused chicken. (At least, they said there was hot sauce in it; all I tasted was the syrup.) Alongside, a small salad featured hidden blue cheese crumbles.
     
    -----My dad got a spin on the famous Louisville Hot Brown, where they somehow stuffed a waffle in amidst the cheese and turkey and bacon and tomato. (What amazes me is that such a thing is not called "the cardiologist's nightmare.") My mom got a sandwich where the bread was—you guessed it—a waffle! Ham, brie cheese, apple slices, and an unidentified pesto rounded out its contents. Overall, we got perfectly sized proportions.
     
    -----It had been an ordeal to properly parallel park outside Taste of Belgium, but once situated, we were primed for our second stop as well: Great American Ball Park, home of the Cincinnati Reds. With no game, much of the park was closed, but we were able to walk up to the main gates and peer into the park. On the way out, we meandered by the team store, where we got a pennant for the collection and a big floppy hat with a distressingly large Mr. Redleg on the side, replete with his handlebar mustache and soulless, gaping eyes. (Rest assured that this hat will be seen in this year's Hatpile.) We even got a few lunch recommendations from locals who were unaware of our current state of waffle-induced gastrointestinal contentment.
     
    -----There were a number of people selling things outside the main gate, where a bronze bust of Johnny Bench mid-throw greets fans. My mom, in front of this oblivious crowd, did her fake-kiss routine to the larger-than-life statue. After stopping by the Reds Hall of Fame and learning that we didn't have enough time to properly tour it, we went back towards the statue where my mom decided that one picture was not enough, and so we re-enacted the unusual scene a grand total of three more times. Fortunately for us, the assembled throng was entirely inattentive.
     
    -----Cincinnati is not a city one hears much about, and it truly surprises. It's very hilly, approaching San Francisco in spots, and though it is a Big City in every sense, it's got a great sense of small-town about it. They've gone to great lengths to revitalize a lot of the area, and the result is a town that feels much smaller than it is, with unusual architecture, actual parking spaces, and an aura of friendliness and walkability.
     
    -----We were close to the waterfront and our next stop took us around the city towards the northern suburbs to the William Howard Taft National Historic Site. While Taft is best known to the American public for the apocryphal story of getting stuck in the White House bathtub, his career as a diplomat and public servant shaped the country in many ways. His greatest career accomplishment, by his own estimation, was as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, and to this day he is the only person to have been both Chief Justice and President. He was seen as a keen diplomat who kept Washington operating when President Roosevelt was out of town. He broke up more trusts than Teddy did and refused to take corporate money, although his less than fiery rhetoric on the campaign trail drove a wedge between the two, who had previously been close friends. Before Taft's term, Teddy believed that he could be one of the greatest presidents; by the end, Teddy was running as a third party because he found Taft ineffective.
     
    -----The site, nestled into the hills around Cincinnati (constituting its first suburb), was somewhat difficult to get into and out of (as there are a grand total of six parking spaces), but we got out and wormed our way back into the downtown area through an area most generously described as "artsy." Our goal was an early supper at Senate Pub, little more than a hole in the wall and known for their local ingredients in utterly unique hot dogs. We arrived when it opened and got three dogs: a classic Chicago, one called a "Trailer Park dog," which featured slaw and crushed-up (local-brand) potato chips, and one called the "Shia LaBeouf," formerly known as the "Lindsay Lohan," which is basically an arugula salad with balsamic vinegar and goat cheese atop the dog. Each hot dog was a whopping half-pound of beef, grilled to smoky perfection, and each was on a locally baked brioche bun. We split each in three and shared, and while I loved each one, the Shia LaBeouf was by far my favorite because I just love goat cheese that much.
     
    -----Our side? Duck fat fries served with harissa aioli. No fry can compete. My dad sampled their version of tea, but alas, we are not in the South were "tea" means "leaf-flavored sugar water." It was good enough for me to dump what remained of his sample into my freshly squeezed lemonade, and it made for a top-notch Arnold Palmer.
     
    -----On the way out, we talked to a fellow I can only assume to be the manager, who described in some detail their process of using local ingredients.
     
    -----Tomorrow: Rockford, Illinois.
  5. Sumiki

    I'm Building Again

    By Sumiki,

    "Well, that looks alright together."
     
    "No. Stop it. You stupid ball joint."
     
    "I can't believe I wasted that much time on something that looks that bad."
     
    "Well, that looks really nice from this one angle, but it's not connected to anything and there's no way of doing so without completely rethinking the torso."
     
    "This is the fourth time I've rebuilt this torso just to replace a freaking axle."
     
    "Ah, screw it, I can't be bothered with custom legs."
     
    "Can't make sounds ... parents are asleep ..."
     
    "I just KNEW I had another one of these somewhere ..."
     
    "..."
     
    "Well, at least I didn't screw up the color layering!"
  6. Sumiki

    Elements

    By Sumiki,

    Shouldn't at least part of the canon be left to speculation and the talents of writers and MOCists?
     
    I mean, with all due respect to Greg, there comes a point where there are just too many elements. If we have not passed that point yet, we're dang close to doing it.
     
    Don't get me wrong, I like different elements and the diversity that they bring to the story. But the proposed addition of adding yet another one - another one, mind you, that's not tangible. I remember Greg once saying that an element is something that you can fire in a straight line if you are a Toa of aforementioned element. That makes me wonder how Kinetics would work - moving the air molecules around at high speed? No, air can do that already. So what does it do?
     
    Also, suppose a Toa of Kinetics, a Toa of Psionics, and four different Toa were on a team. We all know that six elements combine to make Protodermis, right? Right. So, in theory, a combination of fire, water, ice, stone, pure movement ( ), and brain waves (essentially what Psionics controls) could create Protodermis, and I have doubts about Psionics and Kinetics having any effect. Hello! Protodermis isn't alive, and neither are its constituent parts, and so I doubt any telekinetic or telepathic powers will have any effect on its creation.
     
    Along this line of reasoning, Gravity also qualifies as an intangible, but I can see it working to create Protodermis.
     
    You know something that makes a bit more sense: crystal. It's tangible, unlike any other element, exists, and yet it has not even gone close to coming into the canon. I don't know why that is.
     
    I suppose I'll just have to get used to it if Kinetics is canonized, but until that point, if it comes, I'll be dead-set against it.
  7. Sumiki
    [4:37:31 PM] Sumiki: QUICK, WE NEED MORE HATS
    [4:37:41 PM] Sumiki: SOMEONE SHIP WISCONSIN TO NORTH CAROLINA
    [4:38:05 PM] GSR: I was at Valve's offices just week before last. Get me back into Seattle and I can break into their hat vault.
    [4:39:04 PM] Sumiki: I don't know much about Team Fortress 2, but from what I gathered, it's essentially HATS HATS HATS
    [4:39:14 PM] Sumiki: Which means it's kind of like BrickFair
    [4:39:22 PM] GSR: So I hear. Less Andrews, though.
    [4:43:16 PM] Sumiki: My fez is now named Andrew
    [4:43:27 PM] Sumiki: so there were three of them this year
    [4:44:19 PM] GSR: And then there's Velox-Andrew out west. I'm beginning to suspect some sort of sinister Andrew plot.
    [4:45:22 PM] GSR: Tell me, Sumiki, was it you who named the fez Andrew? Or did the fez suggest it?
    [4:45:32 PM] GSR: Be honest with me here. We could all be in terrible danger.
    [4:45:55 PM] Sumiki: I did
    [4:45:57 PM] Sumiki: just now
    [4:46:13 PM] Sumiki: because there weren't enough Andrews
    [4:46:42 PM] GSR: Be wary, my friend. They have strength in numbers.
    [4:47:08 PM] Sumiki: Don't worry, my fez is inanima-OH GOODNESS WHAT IS IT DOING
    [4:47:16 PM] GSR: GET OUT OF THERE
    [4:47:29 PM] Sumiki: DON'T TASE ME, ANDREHAHAHAYSUVSAVVVHJLUHASHHKJBSJHKBASBHJDskfvasdfhbnjfdsbhkfasdhfaszzzzz
    [4:47:34 PM] GSR: FEZZES MIGHT BE COOL BUT THEY'RE NOT WORTH YOUR LIFE
    [4:47:45 PM] Sumiki: YOU'RE A FEZ
    [4:47:47 PM] GSR: My god. They got him.
    [4:47:51 PM] Sumiki: HOW ARE YOU HOLDING A TASER
    [4:47:59 PM] GSR: DON'T ASK QUESTIONS, JUST RUN
    [4:48:02 PM] Sumiki: YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE HANDhhsdjhhjhdshjdhjhayyagahhahhzzzz
    [4:48:09 PM] Sumiki: SHOULD I JUMP OUT THE WINDOW
    [4:48:13 PM] GSR: ALWAYS
    [4:48:27 PM] Sumiki: DEFENESTRATIOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooonnnnnnnn
    [4:48:30 PM] Sumiki: *oof*
    [4:48:47 PM] Sumiki: oh hey smeag what are you OH HOLY ONIONS
    [4:48:49 PM] GSR: Defenestration is always the solution.
    [4:48:56 PM] GSR: oh no
    [4:48:59 PM] GSR: KEEP MOVING SUMIKI
    [4:49:06 PM] Sumiki: *action theme plays*
    [4:49:13 PM] Sumiki: *runs into woods*
    [4:49:14 PM] Sumiki: okay
    [4:49:17 PM] Sumiki: I think I'm safe
    [4:49:31 PM] GSR: Alright, but be careful.
    [4:49:41 PM] Sumiki: AAAA VELOX
    [4:49:44 PM] Sumiki: WHY ARE YOU A TREE
    [4:49:46 PM] Sumiki: SERIOUSLY
    [4:49:49 PM] Sumiki: I'M A TREE
    [4:49:59 PM] Sumiki: NO wait you have a taser too wh-asbjksadjhasdnjdhahjagdshfghhc
    [4:50:07 PM] GSR: THEY'LL TAKE ALL YOU HAVE, SUMIKI, YOU MUST KEEP RUNNING
    [4:50:09 PM] GSR: I'm not safe myself
    [4:50:14 PM] GSR: I just remembered my roommate's boyfriend is named Andrew and he's up in the loft right now.
    [4:50:23 PM] Sumiki: ._.
    [4:50:37 PM] Sumiki: BLACK SIX, HOLY COW
    [4:50:40 PM] Sumiki: DON'T-
    [4:50:44 PM] Sumiki: *banhammered*
    [4:51:01 PM] Sumiki: tune in next week for the exciting conclusion of:
    [4:51:05 PM] Sumiki: SUMIKI VS. ANDREWS
    [4:51:44 PM] GSR: Two days later, the show was cancelled in favor of CSI: Waukesha.
    [4:52:37 PM] Sumiki: Fortunately, Syfy picked it up as one of their made-for-TV movies
    [4:53:21 PM] Sumiki: Unfortunately, they replaced Black Six with Watashi Wa and the fez with a flying turtle.
  8. Sumiki

    The Journey Home

    By Sumiki,

    -----There were several ways to get back to North Carolina from the Lexington area, but we had several provisions for a successful return. The fastest route by time would have taken us through the mountains of West Virginia, which we had sworn off on the way up and were not about to risk on the trip's final day. Instead, we opted for a scenic drive—by Kentucky standards, which means lots and lots of trees and mountains—through Appalachia, which saved miles but sacrificed a bit of time.
     
    -----The scenery was about what we'd expect, what with the greenery and mountains and all. We've felt like we're basically in our backyard since we got to Spokane, and when this close, we felt the extra push. As such, we got up at a whopping 6:00 and were able to leave around 8:00.
     
    -----We got gas in a small town before we got to the larger peaks of the Appalachians, and it was one of those places where McDonald's was probably in the "fine dining" category. There was effectively nothing to do on the journey until we got to Pikeville, near the border, where there were several signs about the infamous Hatfield-McCoy feud. Stopping for such things is more suited for the beginnings of journeys than their ends, and so we pressed on.
     
    -----As much as we wanted to get home as early as we could, we needed lunch, and it was here than our Jimmy John's habit caught up to us. There was none in Abingdon, but according to a random Facebook page, there was one in Marion—purported birthplace of Mountain Dew—just a bit further up the road. The process of navigating to it, however, took us straight up into a hospital complex with no through traffic. My dad began laughing maniacally while I got us to Arby's instead, where we each got some roast beef sandwiches.
     
    -----The worst traffic was from Marion to Wytheville down into North Carolina via Fancy Gap. The road itself was fine, but truckers jockeying and weaving made for some hair-raising situations that evolved in front of us. Once into North Carolina, we went around Pilot Mountain and made it safely home at a little past 3:30, where we unpacked while marveling at the amount of stuff we jammed into the car.
     
    -----Total mileage on vehicle: 10,151.9 Miles
    -----Total mileage overall: Unknown (approx. 12,000?)
    -----# of States, Provinces, & Territories: 20
    -----# of Pennants Collected: 5
    -----Pairs of Chicken Socks Purchased: 1
    -----# of Breakdowns: 0
    -----# of Culver's Eaten At: Too Many
    -----Tomorrow: Costco
  9. Sumiki
    Blogarithm Contest #2: Subtitles! 
    You know, as owner and manager of a blog, it's awfully hard to come up with good subtitles. You think and think, but no matter what you come up with it just doesn't fit as a good subtitle.
     
    So starting now, I'm putting the job of coming up with an all-new subtitle for Blogarithm in your hands. Starting today and ending at 11:59 PM EST on Sunday, October 25th, come up with the best subtitle that you can and post it here!
     
    Voting will begin on Monday, October 26th and end on Thursday, October 29th.
    If needed, second-round voting will begin Friday, October 30th and end on Sunday, November 1st.
  11. Sumiki

    The Evolution of a Fan

    By Sumiki,

    (Sumiki continues the Rants, Not Essays! series after failing to open a pickle jar. He had a tomato instead.)
     
    I used to be a hardcore completist.
     
    Somehow, every year that BIONICLE existed, I was able to get every set from every wave. Once I had gotten every 2002 set, every 2001 set (they still sold 'em in '02) then got every 2003 set, it took on a life of its own. I felt as if I had gotten too far into the collection to turn away, past a point of no return. In the world of business, this is a phenomenon known as "escalation of commitment." If BIONICLE was still going, I'd still probably be a completist.
     
    It wasn't just the sets, though; I was enthralled with the story as well. I'd memorize every new bit of story I could get my hands on. I remember thinking about how so incredibly epic the Rahkshi were (*gasp* knee articulation!) and wondering how they could possibly make the story any cooler. Whether or not they succeeded is a point of contention amongst fans, but I found 2004 to be a pinnacle of awesomeness when it arrived. (*gasp* Elbow articulation!)
     
    At some point, subconsciously at least, it became something I did simply because I did it, and the sheer inertia of the tradition was enough impetus for me to continue doing so, year after year. It became a game. I waited until the sets went on sale and scrounged them up. 2009 was especially like this, and marked a sea-change in my time as a LEGO fan. I still enjoyed building the sets, no doubt about it, but I began a transformation. For the most part, I avoided the Bara Magna story. I simply had no interest in learning it like I had learned the story of previous years. It wasn't an active avoidance, not at first - I just lost interest, plain and simple. I still watched TLR and figured out that Metus was the traitor, but I never got myself into any other '09 story.
     
    Then 2010 came along, and with it came confirmation of the dreaded rumors surrounding the end of BIONICLE as we knew it - and I felt fine. Of course, I felt an obligatory twinge of sadness at the loss of something that had been a constant throughout most of my life, but I recognized what I unconsciously had for so long: I had lost interest in the BIONICLE story to the point where I didn't care what direction it went in. What I was a fan of transformed from story to the building system. I cared about the parts in the sets, not the sets or story. That's why it makes no difference to me what LEGO decides to call their main constraction line. Hero Factory's sets are the natural continuation of BIONICLE's sets. I couldn't care less about the story.
     
    The MOCs that I built, beginning in 2004, became the single most defining aspect of BIONICLE, its constraction line cousins, and LEGO in general. As I drifted away from the story, it was replaced by a renewed sense of enthusiasm for the LEGO system of building, the virtues of which I must extol in another entry, for it is too long and tangential to put here.
     
    Oddly, I'm not particularly nostalgic for those olden times when story and sets mattered significantly to me. Greg's recent story revelations failed send the expected waves of nostalgia over me. I view it as closure, and I'm certainly glad we have it, but I don't want BIONICLE back. Let's face it, ladies and gentlemen: BIONICLE's return would most likely suck, as it would be a continuation of the downhill trend it exhibited in its waning years. It would be like Hero Factory all the way around: similar sets, simplistic story, etc. (Well, maybe it'd be like Ninjago a bit ... but that's another entry.)
     
    My evolution as a fan of LEGO is, statistically speaking, rather stark: I haven't purchased a constraction set since 2010, when I got most of the first Hero Factory wave. Despite the interesting parts, I was unimpressed, and I swore off completeism - not like I really had to or anything. Since then, I've gone completely cold turkey on official sets. I've certainly gotten my fair share of parts from both part orders and BrickFair vendors, but I really have no interest in the new sets themselves. When new LEGO catalogs arrive, I'll only nonchalantly flip through them if I have nothing else better to do. Many times, I'll just recycle them.
     
    Can LEGO get back to those olden days? I don't know. We'll just have to see.
     
    But even if they do, I don't expect to return to my old days of completeism ever again.
     
    NEXT TIME: SUMIKI GETS FRUSTRATED THAT THE PART HE JUST SAW A SECOND AGO ISN'T THERE ANYMORE. DANG IT, WHERE DID IT GO. I JUST SAW IT.
     
    GRRR.
  16. Sumiki
    My previous appearance at a plastic surgeon to excise a cyst from the right side of my neck ended with me setting up a follow-up appointment in order to remove an adjacent mole. I'd had this mole since birth, and when the surgeon heard of this, he told me that such things have a small but significant chance of developing into melanoma.
     
    Earlier in the week, I went over there and the operation was almost entirely the same as what I'd experienced before: some sharp pain during the numbing process and then a totally painless procedure. Everything went well until that night, when it began bleeding more heavily.
     
    I will spare everyone the more gory details of things, but the following morning I had more stitches inserted and the local anesthesia didn't work in the slightest bit. That wasn't fun.
     
    Still haven't been able to move my neck much at all, which made a dental appointment a little more long-winded than usual.
  22. Sumiki
    Is it really a "contest" if I'm not announcing winners every week?
     
    Oh well. I'll catch up on it next some time. I'm too tired now.
     
    Today's picture was taken June 3rd, 2012 in Spokane, Washington - and yes, that is a reserved parking sign.
     

    "It's called ... yump."


  25. Sumiki

    Cryoshell Sheet Music?

    By Sumiki,

    I have a Cryoshell album from BZPower's giveaway.
     
    I also have perfect pitch.
     
    Would anyone be interested in downloadable sheet-music versions of the ten Cryoshell songs that came on the CD? (Assuming that a) it's legal and b) that no one's done this yet)
     
    It'd be quite the undertaking, so I want to make sure there's some interest out there.
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