Catalyst Castle

Anime Music Videos (AMVs) are a cool fusion of two things I like - anime and music. AMVs are quite popular among anime enthusiasts. You can find a lot of them on YouTube and similar sites. AMV contests are rather popular at anime conventions, and my cousin even won a prize last year at a convention for an AMV she made. For no particular reason, I want to share some of the AMVs that have really touched me.


WARNING: These are very sad, at least to me. If you're not in the mood to cry I suggest you skip this video feature.


The first one is an AMV done with the anime 5 Centimeters per Second and the song From Where You Are by Lifehouse. I think it really captures very well the theme of the movie. This is a great joining of a beautiful song with a beautiful anime (one of my favorites, in fact).





This next one is done with the anime The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (another favorite) and the song She is the Sunlight by Trading Yesterday.





This last one uses an anime called Rumbling Hearts and the song Goodbye to You by Michelle Branch. I've never seen this anime, but the AMV makes me curious to watch it. This video also made me realize just how much more dramatic impact the word "sayonara" has than "goodbye". The Japanese language is awesome. ^_^





I hope you enjoyed them, even if they did make you a little sad. Personally, I think they're beautifully done. If you've got an AMV you really enjoy, post a link in a comment to this article. Thanks!

I recently discovered a manga published online by a friend of mine (Arcadia is her pen name). The manga's title is Mascara, and it has to be one of the most original manga I've read in a while. The manga's webpage sums up the premise nicely when it says:

As the smartest boy in school and a prodigy, everyone expects Ian to be a high achiever - a future Nobel Prize winning genius. But he doesn't want to be the next Einstein. He just wants to be a makeup artist.

The story is very well writen and filled with great comedy and drama. It centers around the main character Ian, who is living a double life. At school, and pretty much everywhere else, he is a nerdy bookworm. But secretly, he works a part time job as a makeup artist at the mall. In order to accomplish this, he developes a flashy, stylish, sauve, and confident alterego named "Dimitri". The thing is, "Dimitri" is actually more of the person Ian really is underneath his nerdy facade, and he's worried that his neighbor Addison will figure out his secret. See, Ian has had a huge crush on Addison for a while now, but Addison hates makeup, vanity, and "pretty boys". The story really does a great job of building the tension in this situation and keeps you clicking "next page" over and over.

While the art in the beginning of the manga is rather amateur, the story is well writen throughout. The heart of this manga is the characters. All of them are very well developed and believable in their motivations and reactions. Ian's insecurities and attitudes are realistic and make him a very relatable character.

If you like manga or highschool dramedy, check out Mascara.  b(^_^)d
(Start at the first page by clicking the link in the top-left corner.)

I have an odd habit of making comparisons between Star Wars and real life, especially to our worship of Jehovah. The reason for this is that Star Wars is an epic story of Good versus Evil, which reflects in many ways the true life conflict between Jehovah and Satan.

So, today I was thinking about Luke Skywalker and Han Solo in Episode IV and I was pondering, which one of them am I more like in my service to Jehovah.

When it came time for the Rebels to attack the Death Star at the climax of that movie, Han was ready to hightail it out of there. He recognized that this mission was practically suicide. He had been paid for his earlier heroics, and he had no desire to stick around and get killed. Luke, on the other hand, knew just as well as Han that this mission could likely kill him, and he wasn’t getting paid for it, but he still signed on without hesitation. He felt a moral compulsion to stand up for what was right and fight on the side of Good. He knew he might very well die if he took this mission, but he also knew he couldn’t live with himself if he walked away.

So, as Christians, are we more like Han or Luke? Do we serve Jehovah when the blessings are immediate and obvious, but run for the hills when faced with a real test? Or do we stick to Jehovah come-what-may, because we know that we couldn’t live with ourselves if we stopped serving Jehovah? Hopefully, all of us our more like Luke. However, the reassuring thing is that, in the end, Han came around and pulled through when Luke needed him the most. We can always adjust our attitude where needed as long as we see the need for that adjustment before the Death Star fires its super weapon.

Just as a creative diversion, I decided to try casting the main characters of my fan novel Star Wars: Aspirations. I'm still uncertain if these are the actors and actresses I would actually choose in the hypothetical situation that my story should be made into a movie, but these are the ones I'm leaning towards right now.

Emma Watson as Rani Dashel
Honestly, I've never seen her in anything, so I can't really judge her acting abilities. She has kind of the look I'd imagine for the character, though, and she's a good age for the part. With a few adjustments in makeup I think she could easily portray the very young Rani in the beginning of the story and the more adult Rani later on.

Chris Pine as Wess Nayne
In Star Trek he played James Kirk as an intelligent man with surprising depth of character. It's kind of funny, but one of the things I was looking for here was an actor who could look good with a scowl. I don't really picture Wess smiling much. Chris looks a tad young for Wess, but he's actually about the right age for the character. With a little bit of stubble I think it could work.

Kate Beckinsale as Kalina Sah
She's played tough, butt-kicking characters before. I think she would be totally cool as the strong-willed Jedi Master.

Milo Ventimiglia as Marcus Jrent
His character on Heroes is incredibly kind and sincere - not what you'd expect for Marcus. But Milo is a good actor and I think he could definitely turn on the charm to play this dashing scoundrel. Besides, there is a bit more sincerity to Marcus than it might at first seem.

Cate Blanchett as Deela Tarule
This role requires a more mature actress with beauty and class. Having played royalty on more than one occasion is indicative of the amount of class she has.

Robert Duvall as Riv'var Tal
I picture Riv being completely computer generated in a live-action movie, in order to do the alien justice. So, I was mainly looking for someone to provide his voice. It needs to be an older man with a sort of gruff voice, but he needs to have a tough, grandfatherly feel as well. The voice would then probably be slightly digitally enhanced to add even a little bit more of a growl to it. Duvall can certainly play an eccentric character, too, which further qualifies him for the role.

Corry Edwards as Tefo
Like Riv'var Tal, Tefo would probably be either completely computer generated, or perhaps a midget in a suit. Either way, I was simply looking for someone to provide a voice. Corry Edwards did the voice of Twitchy in Hoodwinked. I think if you toned down the speed and pitch of that character's voice by about half, that's roughly what I imagine Tefo would sound like.

Hugo Weaving as The Imperial Inquisitor
He doesn't show up until about two thirds of the way through the story, and even as far as Chapter 18 he hasn't been named, but aside from the characters' inner demons, the Imperial Inquisitor is the major villian of Aspirations. He embodies everything that Rani and Wess seek to oppose. Hugo Weaving can do creepy and intimidating, which is exactly what this character needs.

So, those are my choices as of now for the main cast of Aspirations. What do you think? Are there other actors or actresses that you think would fit the roles better? Let me know by posting a comment.

There is a new Star Wars reference book available September 28th that looks awesome! It is called The Jedi Path: A Manual for Students of the Force, and is being portrayed as a manual passed among Jedi from master to apprentice. This is supposedly the last copy to survive the Great Jedi Purge which began in Episode III. Personally I think this is a really cool idea, and I like the concept of "in-universe" reference books when they're done well. The price tag is a bit steep on the "Vault Edition" featured above, but I'll probably buy one when they release a more standard edition.

I really like the song Half of My Heart by John Mayer with Taylor Swift. I know it's been on the radio for a while, but it was just recently that I really payed attention to it and something about it struck a cord with me.

The music video is pretty cool as well. I'll admit it doesn't quiet match up with my own thoughts on the song, but I still like it.

Here is the video for those unfamiliar with either the song or the video. Enjoy!

I think my favorite passage from the song is this one:


Are there any new songs that have really caught your attention lately?

Has anyone else heard of this? I just found out about this movie the other day. It is based on a graphic novel by the same name. The story has been described as being what you might have “if Batman were written by H. P. Lovecraft.” Lovecraft – an author of weird fantasy, science fiction, and horror during the 1920s and 1930s – is most famous for his Cthulhu mythos.
Are there any movies coming out that you’re looking forward to?

Lately, I've been obsessed with cleaning my room. It's a big project. Also, I've been reading some new manga. One of them is a short 4-volume series called The Name of the Flower. It made me laugh out loud and smile with satisfaction when I came upon this page in volume 3 of the manga. (Read the text from the top-right corner to the bottom-left corner - for those unfamiliar with Japanese comics.)

A couple of pages later, Chouko suggests that Kei could make better progress if he didn't stop to read the books he's putting away - something else I can relate to. ^_^

In early January I wrote a short story called The Most Precious Gift about a teenage girl named Dorothy whose mother died giving birth to her. The story was inspired by a conversation my sister Heather and I had spurred on by an article in Awake magazine on the subject of abortion. Shortly afterward I did a pencil sketch of the troubled protagonist. The sketch sat around for a few months, and just this evening I finally took the time to scan it and do some digital coloring for it. Here are both my original sketch and the finished product. Please feel free to leave any comments on the art and the story (if you've read it).

My most recent obsession has been cleaning my room. It is a monumental task. When I moved back in with my parents a few years ago, I moved all of the contents of a small apartment into a single bedroom. What's more, I really didn't bother to settle in. Many things have stayed in boxes, and a lot of stuff has ended up being stashed wherever it was convenient at the moment. The result vaguely resembles the apartment of Yomiko Readman from the anime Read or Die, as seen in this video.



One thing I've discovered as I've been going through my stuff is that I have piles of old Watchtowers and Awakes that I didn't place. This really impressed on me the wisdom of the society's new arrangement for distributing the magazines. I'm looking forward to getting these issues placed and not acquiring another backlog of magazines in the future.

I write fiction for a living. But, until I start getting a paycheck from that I wash windows to pay the bills. While I'm working, it isn't uncommon for someone to approach me and ask what kind of solution I use to clean the glass. Normally, I'll just give them a straight answer. I use Ajax dishwashing soap heavily diluted in water. The brand isn't really important, just so long as it's a lemon-based, liquid, dishwashing soap. That's no trade secret, because the two most important things for a professional window washing job are good tools and plenty of practice.

Sometimes though, when the person asking strikes me as someone with a sense of humor, I try to give a funny reply. Once I told a woman it was mostly spit. Today I had a new one. I told a gentleman:

"It's a very simple formula, really. It's:

5% luck; 30% skill;

20% concentrated power of will;

30% tools; 15% get up and go;

that's 100% reason to hire a pro."

I'll admit I don't really follow Doctor Who, although I do like the concept of the show and the character. However, for the benefit of my friends and family who are Doctor Who inthusiasts, I thought I would share a couple of random Doctor Who references I encountered randomly while roving very nerdy circles of the internet. Enjoy!

Hey, here's a random piece of black and white computer art I did this morning. It took about 20 minutes to complete.

In late 2002 a very unique show aired on television called Firefly. This sci-fi show featured strong western motifs as it followed the lives of a crew of renegades operating a mercenary ship on the fringes of space. The stories were well told, the characters had depth, and the dialog was tightly written. Unfortunately, the show was short lived at only fourteen episodes. A movie sequel called Serenity was released in 2005, and the story has also been expanded through two graphic novels. Even with the relatively small extent of this franchise, its creators have been able to depict a setting rich in flavor and texture. They've provided just enough for a creative fan to build on and imagine their own stories set in the 'verse of Firefly and Serenity.

That's why it was very cool that they released the Serenity Role Playing Game. As a fan of the setting, and of roleplaying, a couple of years ago I got some of my siblings and friends together to play. We created our own characters to crew our own Firefly-class starship and had some pretty cool adventures together. A few months ago, I got to thinking that it could be very fun and interresting to turn our adventures into a series of short stories, and even expand on them. I'm calling this new "spin-off" series Flyin'. This title is taken from an exchange of dialog between two characters in the pilot episode of the original show.

Simon: Are you always this sentimental? 
Mal: I had a good day.
Simon: You had the Alliance on you, criminals and savages... half the people on the ship have been shot or wounded including yourself, and you're harboring known fugitives. 
Mal: We're still flying. 
Simon: That's not much. 
Mal: It's enough.

To me, that exchange summerizes pretty well the main theme of the show. It's about people living rugged, dangerous lives, and barely scraping by. For many of them, if they're still flying that's good enough.

So, as I set out to begin writing these stories, I found that I was having some difficulty getting a handle on four of the characters I would be writing about, since they were invented by my siblings and friends while we played the roleplaying game, rather than being my own creations. I got the idea to draw illustrations of each of the seven main characters, and I've found that in doing so I've been able to get a better grasp on the characters. So, here below I'm sharing what might be considered an ad of sorts diplaying the main cast of my stories along with the title of the series (click for full view).

A little while ago I picked up some songs by an English folk band called Mumford and Sons. Their music has a nice acoustic sound, but their lyrics are what really capture my interest. They are very insightful and thought provoking. I'll share 3 songs here from their album "Sigh no More" that I find particularly cool. You can click on the links below to listen to them on lala.com. I find them pleasantly uplifting to listen to.

Sigh No More

After the Storm

Timshel

I find that I often find inspiration for writing in songs. For example, I once wrote a short story called “The Old Man’s Bar” inspired by the song “Broadway” from The Goo Goo Dolls.

A while ago I started writing a short story inspired by the song “The World at Large” by Modest Mouse. I haven’t finished the story yet, because I got stuck on an important detail, but hopefully I’ll be able to complete it soon.

Recently, I was listening to the song “Dust Bowl Dance” by Mumford & Sons and thought there was a really powerful story in that song. Actually, I could see it as the seed of a great scenario for the role-playing game Dogs in the Vineyard.

Do you ever find inspiration for writing in music? Which songs have inspired you?

I was recently reading Motor City Gamewerks, a blog by Jason Marker. Jason Marker is a freelance writer who writes for role-playing games. He published two articles on his blog recently about where he gets his ideas and inspirations. While he talks specifically about writing for games, the principles he discusses apply equally to writing fiction for any medium. I enjoyed them emmensely, and found them very insightful, so I thought I would share links to them here. (Disclaimer: These articles may contain a little bit of very mild profanity.)

Catching Fireflies: The Place Where Ideas Come From

The Place Where I Come From is a Small Town: or Everything is Interesting if You Look Hard Enough

I've always admired Batman's gadgets. Chief among them is his car - the Batmobile. While it would be cool to play Batman in a movie, I think the greatest job in any Batman film goes to the stunt driver that gets to drive his car. I have a very cool toy version of the Batmobile from Batman Begins (my favorite Batman film), but I would love to build an actual, real-life Batmobile. Realizing that is a nearly unattainable dream, I decided to settle for a Bat Mobile. It isn't nearly as cool as a sports-tank, but it will do for now.

I built my Bat Mobile in just about an hour using only a few simple materials I already had at home. Below is a picture of the tools and materials I used, and another one of the finished mobile hanging from my ceiling.

1. I won’t heave a sigh every time I’m alone.
2. I can let down my guard for a second without making a mistake.
3. Love won’t break my heart, it will fulfill it.
4. I will forgive myself.
5. I will break down the walls I build around myself.
6. All of my regrets will fade away.
7. I will look at myself in the mirror and like who I am.
8. I will not be anxious. The only surprises will be pleasant ones.
9. I will not doubt myself or others.
10. I will love someone else more than I love myself.

Those are just 10 personal little things that I look forward to in the new system, in no particular order. Are there any little things that you look forward to in the new system? If you would like to, please share them in the comments.

I was inspired by looking at sci-fi concept art to create a picture. This is pretty simple computer art created with ArcSoft Photo Studio 5. Of course, my art never turns out as well as I would like it to, but I did throw this together pretty quickly. Perhaps my problem is impatience.

I've done a bit of art recently. My chosen medium here is LEGOs. I always enjoyed building with LEGOs, but I never considered it an art form until I saw some of the things other people had managed to accomplish with them. This meager attempt by myself is two futuristic battle robots named Pill Bug and Shelly.

I had a nice day in field service today, thanks in part to the brothers and sisters I was out with. Speaking of which, do you ever find yourself out in the ministry all by yourself? Are you struggling to get in those last few hours, but discouraged because you're having to do it all on your own? Well then, here is the company you need!

Service Partners is staffed by qualified, experienced pioneers. We deliver them right to your territory! Our prices are very reasonable. (But don't expect them to offer you money for gas!)

I felt like doing some art today, so I made this anime-style drawing of the character Peter Petrelli from the show Heroes. It's based on a still of the character from an episode in season 1, where Hiro travels to the future and meets a future version of Peter (hence the scar on his forehead which the present Peter lacks).

A while ago, I discovered that on a clear day our skylights let in some really bright light in part of our house which is perfect for casting very distinct shadows. I had my camera phone handy, so I snapped some pictures.