Setsuled's Journal

Only six hours of sleep last night. I've done worse, but for some reason I'm really feeling the lack of sleep to-day. So far. And, no, it's not because I was on a bender. I actually only had one glass of whiskey yesterday and it was pretty early in the day for me; I took a bottle of Jameson over to my parents', where I had lunch (dinner for them) for Saint Patrick's Day. My sister was the only one willing to have some Jameson besides me, and she mixed about a finger with about a gallon of 7-Up. I don't understand it, really. Jameson tastes practically like milk to me, it's so damn smooth and subtle.

I brought over my copy of Darbie O'Gill and the Little People, which managed to hold a lot of attention. I thought about watching Miller's Crossing or The Secret of Roan Inish last night, too, but after writing some more history, I ended up spending a lot of time in Second Life. There's some kind of clothing festival going on. I'm not sure how long it's going to last, but for a few days, all my favourite designers, plus a score of equally talented others, are gathered together. I suddenly wanted a lot more time and money. I mainly just picked up landmarks last night and gaped (landmarks are notes you keep that'll teleport you places when you choose--in this case to the main stores of the designers whose booths I walked through).

While I slept, I downloaded The Smiths' Strangeways, Here We Come because my copy has gone missing. And I also downloaded Serial Experiments Lain, which I hadn't watched in several years. It must have been at least six years ago that I last watched this series--and I stopped after about eight episodes. What started as a mildly intriguing, rather pretty show grew increasingly dull until it was not so much a conscious decision to stop watching it but finally a complete death of will. However, a couple friends of mine have recommended I give the series another try, so I watched the first episode after waking up to-day. I have to admit I now find the first episode an even more empty experience than the first time I watched it. It's just so damn banal. The plain oatmeal I was eating had more flavour. A show I considered to be more style than substance doesn't even seem to do much for me in terms of style anymore.

But I don't know. Maybe it's just because I didn't get much sleep. I'll stick it out for a couple more episodes. I do like the theme song quite a bit, though it doesn't quite mesh with the show. It's substantially better than most anime series themes, but the general rule holds true here that one should never judge an anime series by its theme song. I've noted few exceptions to this rule; Excel Saga, Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Azumanga Daioh, Urusei Yatsura--okay, there're quite a few. But if you think you can judge Evangelion, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, or Code Geass by their theme songs, you're in for a surprise.

I was sorry to hear Arthur C Clarke has died. I must admit, I've never read any of his books, but Kubrick's 2001 is a movie I never, ever get tired of watching.