Nerd Update

Well it's been quite a while since my last nerd report and I'm sure you are wondering what has become of me and the World of Warcraft. I'm sad to say I've left Drabo behind. I had to switch servers so that I could play with my friends, so I left behind my human warlock and created a new character, and undead warlock, named Westwater.


That's me. I can cast curses, call up rains of fire, sap the life of my enemies, and best of all, sumon demons as my pets. Let me introduce you to the family.

A warlocks first pet, the imp. Small and weak, but can cast powerful fireballs and beneficial spells for when fighting in groups.


The next pet, the voidwalker. The tank. Low damage, but lots of armor and hit points. Designed to take the heat in battle while I cast my spells from far away.


The third, my favorite, is the succubus. Not too strong, but can cause a lot of pain with her whip, and can seduce her enemies, rendering them harmless while I position myself for attack. She also slaps herself in inappropriate ways.


And the newest addition the family, the felhunter, the demon dog. Specialized for fighting other magic users with all sorts of zany abilities.


Now you may ask yourself why I didn't buy the came when it first came out. I didn't want to play it by myself. It's a social game in a world populated by millions of players worldwide. Only after I had a gang of friends who wanted in did I seriosuly consider picking up a copy. Now here is a pic of me and my undead buddies chilling out, all wearing identical hoods that I made myself.


If any of you ever decide to play, login to the Garona server and we can go kill stuff, or just goof off and turn ourselves into pirates and ninjas by eating a fish that my friend Frank makes.

Chris Recommends

Well I haven't taken many pictures lately, but hey, who needs pictures? And frankly I'm a bit tired of giving updates on my various adventures and social activities. I even quit my personal Japan journal (I've really been meaning to start that again...). So this week I'm going to take a break from all that and give you some random movie and book recommendations.

Books:

All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy. McCarthy is one of my favorite authors. Faulkneresque, deep and dark. His novels are complex and violent, and sometimes hard to get into (Blood Meridian is my favorite of his, but I would only suggest it if you enjoy All the Pretty Horses as it is even more dense and more violent). The story is simple: John Grady Cole and a friend leave home for Mexico and run into trouble south of the border. And then John Grady goes and falls in love with the wrong woman. I won't say anymore, but if you're looking to challenge yourself with a type of book you are not accustomed to, pick this one up. There is also a movie of this starring Matt Damon that I have never seen.

Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince by J.K. Rowlings. I have no respect for those who dismiss Harry Potter without reading them. And in my opinion, those who do read them and and don't enjoy them must be stuck up. If you didn't have fun reading them, then it must be because you didn't allow yourself to have fun. Perhaps you went in feeling you were above reading children's books, or that fantasy doesn't suit you. Or perhaps you're just dull. Whatever the excuse, it's ridiculous, and you should go back and try again. Potter number 6 I read in three days. It lives up well to its predecessors. Once again, the tone becomes darker and the stakes for Harry get bigger. And ooh, the ending... quite a setup for the seventh and final novel.

Movies:

Casablanca. Recently a friend of mine said "he doesn't like old movies." I've heard this sentiment before and it angers me in the same way people who refuse to read Harry Potter anger me. Lighten up and try something new. The only things that new movies have that old movies don't have are good special effects and current ways of speaking. That's it. As far as story, acting, directing, and cinematography go, they are just as likely to be good or bad in an old movie as in a new movie. Anyway, if you're a person who never watches old movies and you're brave enough to give them a try, do yourself a favor and pick up Casablanca. I've never met someone who watched Casablanca and didn't like it. Simple as that. Now go. I won't even describe the plot. Just go watch it.

I wanted to write a second movie recommendation, but I got tired of writing, so just watch Casablanca, or perhaps a Police Academy movie.

Oh what the hell, here are a couple pictures from the place where Satoko works. They weren't taken on my camera. The first picture is the research vessel MIRAI, which Satoko once worked for (the lovely girl is standing in the bottom right of the picture in her work uniform). And the second picture is of me studying a radar image. Actually, Satoko works at the facility which is just out of sight in picture 1. They had an open house last weekend and I was able to get a better idea of what Satoko does for a living. There was a video in English describing the ARGO sensors she works with, which get dropped in the water and follow the flow of currents, etc, collecting all sorts of data for all sorts of research.

No Kamafuse

Today I sit at my desk in sadness. Today was supposed to be the day the whole school hikes to the top of Mount Kamafuse, the mountain the looms over all of Mutsu. But alas, we awoke this morning to the sound of pouring rain knowing that meant there would be no hike. So, classes are progressing as usual. Now the sky has cleared up and the sun is beating through the windows and it is hot and muggy inside. Damn, I wish I was on that mountain. Oh well.

And here are two pics from events I meant to post about a long time ago. The first is a pic of the city of Hakodate at night. A one hour drive and a two hour ferry ride from where I live, Hakodate is a much bigger and cooler city than anything in this area. It has an awesome hamburger restaurant chain called Lucky Pierrot, and various other attractions. I don't know why I never visited it before. The second picture is the Tanabu Matsuri, the biggest yearly festival in Mutsu. Good times were had by all.





And on another note, I've been reading a lot about New Orleans and Mississippi and it sounds horrible. With no access to American TV, I can only find out about it through cnn.com, which isn't very satisfying. Many people have been asking if I have family or friends in the area, so I will say that I do have an aunt and uncle that live in Mississippi, but it sounds like they just had some trees knocked down in their town and no electricity. Nothing too severe, luckily.