I like Pilot Candidate/Candidate for Goddess. The art's nice and the characters are pretty. The dialogue isn't too bad either, given the usual quality (or lack thereof) of dubs.

Speaking of Harry Potter, has anyone seen those commercials for that Slime Chamber thing? For that I have only two words: THE HELL?

My mom's visiting friend who works for Scholastic offered to get me signed copies of the Harry Potter books... how cool would that be?! Very cool, says I.

My brother works at the Malco theater. So he was able to see Resident Evil a day early. He saw it at 2:30 in the morning, in a dark theater, with three other people. He said it was "fucking sweet."

I really want to see this movie.

::slaps her forehead:: D'oh! I never read the instruction booklet. I always just kind of ignore them. But yes, it was the right place to check. Thanks, Kristen. Apparently the guy's name is Tsutomu Sekimoto...but I ran a search on that name and found nothing at all, alas. -__-

Oh yeah--I got the Okage strategy guide today, and it does indeed have some nice art in it that I have not yet seen before. The guide is cheekily written, which is amusing, but it leaves out a surprisingly large amount of information...but I got it for cheap, and like I said, artwork. Didn't have the artist's name though. I guess I'll just have to pay close attention to the credits when I finish the game for the ten millionth time. X3;
Sigh. Two days of spring break left and I've done hardly any of my homework. Tomorrow and the next day will be not pretty at all. n_n

Ray 1 is dark green
Ray 2 is blue
The principal axis is red
And the lenses are too
The focal point is goldenrod
While twice that (2F or C) is a yellow shade
Complete with images and objects of each player in the tale
And our packet is made.

Eh? Eh? That's the 'key' for my ray diagram (Okage themed) project. Here's parts of it (because I know you care)--the images for the cases and the cover, which I uploaded to be printed out on my brother's computer. I'm likely going to get a wretched grade on this (or at least, not the excellent grade I would like and need), as I'm really not good at drawing diagrams, but at least I'm having fun. Writing bad rhyming poetry is truly a guilty pleasure. I bet the Okage translators had a ball with Epros (who, of course, speaks completely in rhyme).

I'd love to know the name of the Okage artist, because I just love his/her style. One of the many reasons why I desire the strategy guide--surely it would have at least this person's name (and more of their artwork n_n).

But.. to explain myself. Money means college money. I was accepted to Rhodes, the college I wish to go to. I got a scholarship, but not a big one--not nearly enough to sizably decrease the 28K price tag. Now, I'd really like to go to Rhodes. I'm willing to work to go to Rhodes (that is to say, getting a job. Maintaining the 2.5 GPA I need to keep my scholarship is not going to be an issue, since my GPA is a 3.5 at the moment and would at most drop to a 3.4 because of my goddamn physics class). But I'm not going to die of unhappiness if I can only go for maybe one or two years and then transfer out.. or go somewhere else for the first two years and then transfer to Rhodes, or WHATEVER... what's upsetting me is that I don't want to put a financial strain on my parents. Mom seems to realize that I would be fine with attending U of M. I'm not going to Ole Miss. I have been thoroughly convinced that Ole Miss is not a school I want to be attending, and I don't want to leave the state. But anyway... Dad doesn't want me going to U of M; he doesn't think it's good enough. But he's also the one making me most worried about money. I don't want to be the kind of kid whose parents sacrifice so that she can go to college and then end up disappointing said parents in some way. I have a propensity for screwing up. It's what I'm best at, really, getting it all wrong. Knowing that my parents are changing their lives for the worse to support my college endeavors would make me feel even more guilty than I already do.

I mean, there's no guarantee they'll do that, but you know... my brother's going to college too. And his colleges of choice cost as much as Rhodes. Swallowing the cost of Rhodes is hard enough, but swallowing twice that is a far too large pill. If we can't work Rhodes out, I'm okay with U of M. I just want to go college. I just want high school to end (we'll ignore the fact that U of M is said to be the HS after HS, especially since people I've talked to from Ole Miss say it's just like my high school anyway). I just wish I were more intelligent.. then I'd have a higher rank and maybe wouldn't have this problem. -_-

::lays down on the floor and cries::

"I hate money."
"You'd jolly well like it if you didn't have any!"

I've gotten a lot of nice comments on this layout, even from people I don't know and don't expect to like anything I produce. This is heartening, because I know that compared to 100 percent of my links list, my design skills are waay below par. To be honest, I only have a rudimentary knowledge of HTML, and also only rudimentary knowlege of my graphics program (Paint Shop Pro). Also I'm limited by my own preferences: I prefer function over form. While some of my more recent layouts with the Enormous Backgrounds may look wonky on resolutions other than my own, I know that they work and that you can access the content they're presenting, which is the most important thing. I'm also a Netscape user, primarily, though I open up IE whenever a layout refuses to show itself in Netscape. Plenty of people still use Netscape, but if you're fine with alienating them because you can't even at least offer an alternative, then I guess that's your business. Most people aren't as persistent as me: if a layout won't work in their browser, they'll leave without even seeing what you have to offer.

My computer is also very old and very slow. Layouts with too many and too large graphics choke him and freeze him. I'll tell you what else we both dislike--those chrome window things, that remove all the menu bars. First of all, my screen has a small seizure while it loads (which completely frightens me), and second, some people forget to compensate for the lack of menu bars by not adding in 'close' and 'back' links and so on. It's like an annoying pop-up, but as a visitor you have even less control over it.

I should probably try to decrease my usage of emoticons, at least with regards to this blog. I find them very useful in conversation, as they help to distinguish my tone (which is usually either not serious or downright apologetic), but here, where I'm mostly talking to myself, they seem somewhat silly.

::rubs her neck, which has a mighty crick in it:: Ahh, I hate people. In my general dealings with people, regardless of whether or not I like them, I try to be at worst civil and at best commiserating/friendly. But they do like to make it difficult.

That did it. You were nearly right, Kat. ^_^ (it's valign)
So, new layout. Does it please you?

I think I'm going to do this.

Erk.. how do I bring my side stuff up the top? ._. Alas, I am stupid.

Y'know, if my dream is ever achieved and I truly do get published, I don't know whether I want the cover to say 'by Lyn Straine' or by my real name, which, for those of you that still don't know it yet, is Courtney Bollinger. I think my real name is long and sort of clumsy (Lyn[n] is a part of my real name though, as I'm sure most of you know as well), but my real last name begins with a B, so it would be filed higher on bookshelves. =P (and, in my opinion, Lyn Bollinger just sounds weird)

A thousand years, a thousand more,
A thousand times a million doors to eternity
I may have lived a thousand lives, a thousand times
An endless turning stairway climbs
To a tower of souls
If it takes another thousand years, a thousand wars,
The towers rise to numberless floors in space
I could shed another million tears, a million breaths,
A million names but only one truth to face

A million roads, a million fears
A million suns, ten million years of uncertainty
I could speak a million lies, a million songs,
A million rights, a million wrongs in this balance of time
But if there was a single truth, a single light
A single thought, a singular touch of grace
Then following this single point , this single flame,
The single haunted memory of your face

I still love you
I still want you
A thousand times the mysteries unfold themselves
Like galaxies in my head

I may be numberless, I may be innocent
I may know many things, I may be ignorant
Or I could ride with kings and conquer many lands
Or win this world at cards and let it slip my hands
I could be cannon food, destroyed a thousand times
Reborn as fortune's child to judge another's crimes
Or wear this pilgrim's cloak, or be a common thief
I've kept this single faith, I have but one belief

I still love you
I still want you
A thousand times the mysteries unfold themselves
Like galaxies in my head
On and on the mysteries unwind themselves
Eternities still unsaid
'Til you love me

--A Thousand Years; Sting

This song strongly reminds me of Karma Slave...in fact I was listening to it as I thought of some important Plot Points...

One word for that Buffy episode: HUH?

"Always forgive your enemies. Nothing annoys them so much." --Oscar Wilde

I like The American Embassy. The sexy skinny British guy who works in the office needs more air time.

Today was a (nice) surprise... Alex and I went to Sonic, so I had a real lunch twice in a row (one yesterday, one today), and then we came back and I tortured him for several hours with various things. Including Okage (you know I'll never miss a chance for Okage torture!). I re-named Ari to Alex just for him (I never rename characters, so you know, this is love =P) and realized that Julia, Ari's bitchy childhood love interest who dumps him like a hot potato, is the name of the girl Alex likes. X3; Poor Alex. I hope I didn't bore you too much hon, and now that I've showed it to you, you likely won't see it again. :3;
And now apparently a bunch of Bryan's people are coming over to watch Pulp Fiction. n_n

Karma's first part is finito. Thoughts, please! On this end, and on everything up to now.

Yeah, okay, it's dead. Good. ::traipsing down memory lane:: You can ignore all these posts if you wish, this is just me remembering my web existence as it was when I was wee. Or, more wee than I am now, anyway. I used to be a part of this gang of (mostly male) RPGers, which is where I met one of my first online friends out of the JFW (which Azusa and Scully were in)--Shawn, who I have not spoken to in ages. Anyway, the point is that at one point Shawn (poor baby -_-) was kicked out of his house and had to hang out in the woods for a while, and he'd printed out some stories of mine (specifically WAI/Revelations, which I believe Nichole still has on disk, yes? =P), and he used the printouts as kindling for his fire (not because he disliked the story [though I wouldn't blame him if he did, as it is awful], he just needed to keep the flame going). XD I don't know, that always amused me.

Okay, so, according to this, I first started writing Claris's first incarnation when I was 13, then. Five years ago. Damn. (it had another title then too. No, I will not tell you what it was. Then you might actually be able to find it somewhere) Why did I plaster myself everywhere with this horrible writing when I was younger? n_n I can find this old crap on like five different sites. Fortunately one of them, which hosted one of my worst stories ever (a horrible, horrible opus that was over 200K of CRAP.. no, it wasn't WAI, it was something else), is dead, I think.

..maybe I'd better check to make sure.

::reads Old Crap and writhes in pain:: Remember, self, I was only twelve. I was stupid. Yes.

Oh my God, it's Kidpub. Some of my seriously old crap is on this site. I mean, SERIOUSLY old. We're talking CLARIS when it was still a -real- fanfiction (no Sean! can you even imagine). Holy crap. I thought this site died? o_o

Ke ke ke, also, we agreed that the Offspring song 'Self-Esteem' reminds us of Ari (I had it written on a picture I am drawing and Ali mentioned it -before- I showed it to her)--you know, the song that goes 'I know that I'm being used / that's okay because I like the abuse' and 'I'm just a sucker with no self-esteem' and such, and then when we got in the car, the radio was PLAYING THE SONG. Awesome. XD

Mmm, I'm hungry. Playing video games is hard work dammit! Maybe a grilled cheese sammich.. oh, no, Mom made steak.. mmm.. steak...

::yawns:: Things to do:
1. English project (need to go to Rhodes library for critical commentaries, or some library)
2. Physics project (need to copy Bryan's and print out the CG models of the Okage characters which I am using for project because I am too lazy to draw)
3. Math work (must copy partner's assignment and collect all homework problems n_n)
4. College stuff (-_-)
5. Clarity (about half-done with fourth chapter)
6. Karma
7. Kurai-work

So much to do, so little motivation. ._.;

But yes, fun was had! Laris and Ali viewed the end of Okage as well as an important part in the middle that helps the ending make sense, and they brought me lunch and we went down to the comic shop for a little bit. I gave Ali her picture (alas, I cannot find the Link keychain ._.) and she gave me the original draft of the Claris story! XD It brings me much delight. I love Ali and Laris. I love them good.

Much fun was had today!! :D Sadly, it is likely to be my only spot of funness in this week (I would like, perhaps, to go with people to see Resident Evil when it comes out on Friday, but I am not counting on this). But at least I will not be at school, and that is Good.