Showing posts with label Toy commercial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Toy commercial. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 7, 2015

Recap: Yo-Kai Watch Episode 2

Before I get started on this episode; I’d like to share some things I forgot to mention last time. Apart from the voice acting being subpar at best, it seems I was correct in my theory that the scripts would be hacked to ribbons by the editing scissors. Viz has made every possible mistake they could in altering the script for the target audience here; filling it to the brim with unnecessary rewrites and mistranslations; most egregiously making the characters sound even more dickish than they were in Japan and changing the pudding to a Greek yogurt. I mean, I can understand referring to the doriyaki in Doraemon as “yummy buns”; since most American children probably don’t know what doriyaki is (to the point where Noby had to name them onscreen), but changing a dessert to a healthy item is a bit over the top.


On top of that, early response to the dub is lukewarm at best among the target audience of young children. So, it seems this invasion that everyone else was hyping is off to a rocky start. I don’t even think I need to go over my “hype backlash” talk again right now, so let’s open up the next episode of Yo-Kai Watch.


For the sake of argument, I will forgo the theme song; since I have bigger fish to fry, so to speak. Instead, I’m once again putting something else on. Helps me mellow out for what’s ahead.


1. The characters

I’ve mentioned before how I don’t consider Nate and Whisper to be the best characters in the way myself or anyone else would define the word; but it’s quite clear that they lack the most basic motivation in what they do. I can understand giving the target audience someone to relate to as a protagonist; but the problem is when a work contains Yokai, monsters, martial artists; or any other sort of fantasy and science fiction elements, the audience needs characters that are not only relatable, but could believably hold their own in a situation like this. Key examples include Son Goku, Monkey D. Luffy; Sosuke Sagara, Spike Spiegel, Shinji Ikari, Simon Giha, Edward and Alphonse Elric; and Roger from The Big O. All of these characters have clearly-defined motivations and goals. Throughout the bulk of the series, much less the initial 26-episode order Disney XD has placed, I feel as if I barely know anything about Nate; not helped by the fact that even the promotional material describes him as “Average.”

His friends and family fare little better, as his parents are just standard archetypes with little to no variance. Eddie (Kanchi in the Japanese version) is a tech nerd; Bear (Kuma in the Japanese version) is the dumb muscle, and Katie essentially fulfills the same purpose that Smurfette did. I’m not saying you have to make every anime the same; but unless you’re someone like Akira Toriyama, Masashi Kishimoto, Tite Kubo, Eichiro Oda, Hiromu Arakawa, Hayao Miyazaki, Shinichiro Watanabe, or Katsuhiro Otomo; we usually have certain expectations in mind. That’s at least two paragraphs on the failings of the characters before we get to the actual meat of things now. 

2. Kappa Sigma Monotony

So, our Yokai of this first part is a kappa, which even Whisper points out is pretty basic. Unfortunately, the dubbing makes him and Nate even bigger dicks to each other than in the Japanese version; which is no easy task. Even to a guy like me, who’s not a fan of the show; this is really sad.

His name is Walkappa, quite obviously this franchise’s answer to Psyduck. Yet, I only wish the headaches I got watching this would give me psychic powers. 




Also, Whisper mistakes a ramen bowl (which the dub refers to as the more generic “dinnerware”) for Walkappa’s plate. I know I use this gag a lot, but it still fits; even without the wheel of fish.



Stupid! You're so stupid!
For some reason, Walkappa sounds like a California surfer in the vein of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Bill and Ted. They are trying way too hard to hide the fact that this comes from Japan. Least the Power Rangers didn’t call too much attention to the fact that Japan looked awfully similar to Southern California (and more recently, New Zealand).

3. It’s all toilet sounds!

The next segment begins with Nate trying to use the restroom at school. You see what I mean about the target audience? They’re often so young that they’re reveling in the fact they now have control of their own bladder and bowels.

Kate, of course, reveals this to the whole class. Look, when you gotta go, you gotta go. It’s that simple. No need to stop the presses about it.

Yet, Nate thinks this one blooper will ruin him. No, it will take a bit more than that. Low ratings and launching against Call of Duty: Black Ops III should do the trick.

This once again turns his ostensible friends, Eddie and Bear into Bulk and Skull. A boorish fatso and a condescending tweed: you do the math. 





Whisper once again puts the idea in Nate’s head that a Yokai is behind this bathroom faux pas. It’s shit like this that would make him grow up to be Tyler Durden.

He points the Yo-Kai Watch at Katie; and we are introduced to Tattletell. I’m just going on record that I consider puns to be slightly above toilet humor on the comedic scale; and the humor in this anime isn’t as surreal as some other one’s I’ve seen; as I’m about to tell you.

4. I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.

So, Tattletell is the reason why one’s secrets are spilled all over. Great, it’s the Yokai version of Anonymous!

Also, are we seriously still on his BM? Top-rated program in Japan, folks! I’ll get to the less-than-stellar performance in the US in a little while.

Anyway, Nate is so angry he decides to face off against Tattletell, whether she wants to or not! 


It's morphin' time! MASTODON!

Then, they run the diarrhea into the ground even further by having Katie tell about it again. What is this anime’s obsession with his bodily functions?!

Once again, I must admit the animation is actually pretty nice for a show I don’t really care for. Just as the Transformers films are particularly well-made despite essentially being glorified 2-hour-plus toy commercials. Hasbro in particular is quite grateful for President Reagan’s little contribution to make that happen.

Whisper even says “such honesty could be devastating.” I know; I can be quite brutal towards something I don’t enjoy. Such is the position of the “caustic critic” persona.

Tattletell then clamps onto some other townsfolk in Springdale (New Sakura Town in the Japanese version), including this cougar that’s just a step away from a Kardashian in terms of udder vapidity. 


So, highly appropriate for this anime, really.


She also gets a criminal to confess where he buried a pile of money under the high school football field!


Also, I was the second gunman on the grassy knoll and I have Jimmy Hoffa's corpse in my freezer!

Yet, despite all this rampant Americanization (seriously, the setting has been moved to Idaho, with apologies to my neighbors in that fine state); Nate still says “I’ll never forgive you” to Tattletell. While that statement varies in the weight it carries here, in Japan; it’s pretty much the same thing as telling someone “fuck you” here.

5. I want you to show me the way!

Another strike against this anime is the fact that Nate constantly has to be told what to do as if he were a lobotomized Slakoth. While there is some degree of that in other “mons” series, generally the protagonists can figure things out on their own. 


With yet more prodding form Whisper, Nate summons Jibanyan. Once again, this is a very pretty series even if that energy couldn’t also be channeled into the script or characters.

Yet, Jibanyan proclaims he’s an individual with his own needs and wants. While there was an initial barrier between Ash and Pikachu; that pretty much went away after the first episode, barring a few gags from time to time. 




Even Tattletell is fed up with waiting, just drinking tea while Nate shambles through this turd! 


It's official: you suck!


6. Lost in Translation 2: Lost Harder

In this next bit, we get ANOTHER gag that the target audience here won’t get; since it’s entirely dependent on the knowledge for idol AKB48 and their counterparts, NyAKB. With the term changed to the more generic “girl group”; the gag now makes no sense in its new context, or lack of thereof.

Worse, this isn’t just a one-off joke either: it’s a large part of his character! I may not be entirely against changing things for a dub like some other anime fans; but they have to be changes that make sense! This isn’t like changing a character’s name; you can’t just turn a pop phenomenon into a total non sequitur!

As a result, Nate and Whisper say Jibanyan has serious issues. Given my first recap of this anime, I agree. Still, might as well Cinema Sins this part anyway.


Nate and Whisper are dicks to Jibanyan.
He follows Tattletell to the park; and decides to summon Walkappa instead.


This is going straight up my nose!
7. If I have a stroke as a result of viewing this anime; can I sue the producers for damages?

So Walkappa still keeps talking like a less funny Shaggy; and he’s able to defeat Tattletell by giving her a bunch of useless information. Still doesn’t help that he sounds so stoned. As with “Princess VS Princess,” I’m fairly certain this was conceived stone-cold sober; and the Japanese definitely don’t need the help.


Hino, didn't I read this part already? Did anyone proofread this before they clicked "print?"

It goes on, and apparently he likes pizza. With this cultural translation; I think he’s now rivaling Jar Jar Binks in terms of sheer annoyance. 


Mike Nelson: It's supposed to endear him to us. Makes me want to take a section of rebar to his skull.

8. Who? What? When? Where? Why? How?

There’s only five minutes left; and I still have no idea what others see in this. It’s like the South Park episode “Chinpokomon” (one of my favorite Pokémon parodies, by the way); in which every adult in town is bewildered by the whole thing while the children are invested.

Back with the show, is Bear a special needs kid? His voice acting sounds like someone I was bussed with in high school.

He might be on the borderline, since he got a 50 on his test; all while sounding like Chris from Family Guy (pre-2005 cancellation, of course, barring the Star Wars parodies).


Someone peed in my pants!

Even so, we’re not really given any information on the human characters or the Yokai. Without it; there really isn’t any reason to care about what’s going on.

Even a potentially interesting setup like Katie being reluctant to tell her parents about her test results is hampered by the fact that I have to question every single action people take onscreen.

Case in point: while we are told Nate is an average boy, he and Whisper actually have very questionable moral values. Rather than simply ask Katie what’s wrong; Nate is encouraged to use Tattletell to forcibly extract the information from her.


What does Marsellus Wallace look like?


Not only that, Nate is downright gleeful about the fact that he’s doing this. That’s how a person can grow up to be Alex de Large.

Yet, Katie’s mother is strangely fine with the fact that she didn’t get a perfect score. Did Tommy Wiseau ghostwrite parts of this dub? Nothing anyone says makes any sense, and the voice acting and dubbing are atrocious!


I got the results of the test back, I definitely have breast cancer.


So, we get yet another stock moral about trying one’s best. Skip!

We then close on Nate and Whisper admitting it’s good to be honest… while stalking out her home. Our heroes, ladies and gentlemen! 




In lieu of the English ending; I have yet more bad news to bear. I’ve received word that the ratings are well below expectations from the pilot’s initial airing. Only 300,000 viewers tuned in; finishing at number 85. So, it looks like my skepticism towards the show was justified for its prospects here.

This puts the potential for the series on rocky ground; as the manga is also being brought stateside; and the video game is still launching against Black Ops III. Short of moving the release date for the game, it looks like this “Yokai invasion” is shaping up to be more Tomorrowland than Age of Ultron; landing with more of a whimper than a bang.

I intend to do one more recap of the dub’s third episode; since it’s clear there’s a lot to talk about. After that, my viewfinder will be back on my initial target for this month. See you, space cowboy.

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Recap: A Perfect Match


Hello again. It's Bakugan time again. This makes it Bakugan recap number four. It's
such a perplexing series. It's undeniably bad, but for some reason, we always wanted to watch
it. We are fully aware that it's a vehicle for a trading card game and trading figure game, and
borrows heavily from other series of its type.

The series does have fans that genuinely like it, but I have made it a point that it could
be more than what it settles for. Simply making it a kid's anime does not excuse it from laziness,
when it could be a far more memorable series than merely a composite of Pokémon, Digimon,
and Yu-Gi-Oh.

So, why do I find it so bad? That is the question that Bocaj Nosirrah raised. I find it bad
that it has to resort to the obvious ways of selling toys. I find it bad that the makers of the
anime simply use the fact that it's for children as an excuse to not try. I find it bad that TMS,
a studio that provided some of the best animation in the industry, is using lackluster animation;
especially since the first season came out the same year as Gurren Lagann.

Let's just dispense with the pleasantries, and I shall get started on Bakugan recap 4,
“A Perfect Match.”

The opening has not changed a bit. Same intro, same grungy theme song, same block
text title card. This does not bode well.



We open in Australia.  As much as they cut corners on the animation, I admit the design of the gorge where this episode starts off is actually quite nice. It would be good as a painting or a photograph.


This is Ash. I mean Ash. I mean Ash. I mean Billy! I have attached an image showing
the similarities between the two characters. We're in trouble already.



Billy chastises his friend Julie for not having a talking Bakugan. The Bakugan's name
is Cycloid. Wasn't that a Go-Bot?






Billy continues to talk down to Julie about not having a talking Bakugan. After all,
they are available at your local toy and game outlet.

So, at roughly 4 minutes in, we get our first battle, and once again, we go into bullet



Billy unleashes a wolf Bakugan called Hynoid. He also addresses Julie as a Baku-babe.
Julie's reaction to this is to dance a little and summon her own Bakugan, Battloid, another brown
snake. I've been having these weird Stevia-based sodas while taking the notes for this recap,
and they kept me awake due to the battle-not because they had caffeine, but because they
more or less tasted like window cleaning fluid.






We also discover that Julie is not above insulting a friend she's had since childhood.
I don't know about you, but when I have a friend since childhood, I generally like to stay on
speaking terms with them. Another weird thing is that Billy's chin seems to have grown
tremendously. It's like the offspring of Jay Leno and Bruce Campbell.  





The battle continues, and I still can't figure out the logic behind the Gs. I'm solid with
Pokémon types (even if they don't always make sense, like Psychic over Grass), monster,
spell, and trap cards in Yu-Gi-Oh, and even though I've never officially played Magic the
Gathering; I've grown to respect it since coming of age. Still, I cannot fathom the system
of Bakugan. Element types I can figure out, but they never explain how the Gs work at all.

Julie summons another Bakugan to the field, a mastodon-like creature called Tuskor.

It's Morphin' Time! Mastodon!



Billy replies by summoning Cycloid to the field. For some reason, the animators
decide to have his hat fly off when he summons a Bakugan a certain way. There's no real
logic behind it. At least when other anime do it, they set it up. They can't just do it randomly
and expect people to laugh.





Then, Cycloid makes his hand grow and smashes Julie's Gate Card into pixie dust.
Billy then orders Cycloid to attack Tuskor, and “give him a love tap.” Why do I find that dirty?





Julie then summons her last Bakugan, a Sphinx called Minion. I much prefer the little
yellow lab workers.





Billy summons Cycloid again, and once again, his hat flies off. I don't get why that happens. When other anime do that, it's funny. Billy wins the battle; and continues to belittle
Julie for not having a talking Bakugan. You're really not helping your case, anime.





Billy remarks that he got his Cycloid in Bakugan Valley. Wait. There's a Bakugan Valley?
I suppose it's near Pokémon Park, Digimon Island, or Yu-Gi-Oh Peninsula! He goes on to say
he just found Cycloid lying there in the valley. That's not something to be impressed by.
If you just find a toy lying on the ground, you can go ahead and take it.





Back at home, Julie goes on Chat Roulette to take out her frustrations. She confers with
Dan, Runo, Marucho, and Alice. Julie claims she does not need a talking Bakugan to make her
happy. When did this turn into Degrassi?  




She calls Billy a “loudmouth.” I think he acted more like a douche for someone who's
supposed to be a childhood friend. Dan confides in Drago, Runo in Tigrera, and Marucho in
Preyas. All these talking Bakugan do not make Julie feel any better. I think this angsting requires



Julie looks at a toy horse and cowboy that Billy gave her when she was younger. The
flashbacks in this episode remind me of Myself Yourself. Listen, if you want to make Myself
Yourself season 2, make Myself Yourself season 2.


The next day, Julie goes into Bakugan Valley to search for her perfect match, if you'll
pardon the title drop. All that happens is that she tumbles down a hill, gets swarmed by scorpions
and bats, and constantly repeats the word “icky”, which I'm sure no 13-year-old girl uses.

You think darkness is your ally? I was raised in it! The darkness betrays you.




We then get our ad bumpers for the episode. One is a case of fan service for the fathers
and older boys watching, the other is a spoiler.  




Julie returns home, and she now feels even worse about not having a talking Bakugan.
Look, there's only so much of this a child can take. They seem to be going out of their way



She actually cries to herself about not having a talking Bakugan. Oh, knock it off.
It will pass. Remember Tamagotchi and Furby? I sold the former, and I know a guy whose father got sick of the latter and ripped the batteries out of it. (Note: I am aware that Furby is
planned to be put back on the market this holiday season. May God help us all.)







Just then, a talking Bakugan hears Julie's pleas as he appears in her bookshelf. For some
reason, he sounds like a combination of Brad Garrett and Bluto.



The Bakugan introduces himself as Gorem. Standard. Julie promptly begins fawning over him like when girls found out Robert Pattinson is single again.





The next day, Julie again meets with Billy. Also, they're reusing animation again.
Why does it look like this? Pokémon isn't this blatant about it; and when you look at a series
like Bleach or One Piece, it looks good! It looks almost theatrical!





Julie then proclaims to Billy that the situation will be different this time, because she
now has a talking Bakugan.

And so can you! Run out to the toy store and get yours! Yoko commands you!



Billy and Julie have another battle, and once again, it goes into bullet time. Why
are we showing a tumbleweed in bullet time? For that matter, why is there a tumbleweed in
Australia?



The first Bakugan is summoned, Wormquake. Wormquake is then quickly dispatched.
I can't believe this dreck. Here's another song for this occasion.





As Billy summons his Bakugan, his hat once again flies off. The continuity is awful
too. It's back on in the next shot even though we didn't see him put it back on.





Julie then has an over the top reaction, a standard feature of most anime of its type.
Gorem then tells Julie it's time to put him in. Put him in, Julie! It can't be as bad as when you
threw your cousin's Transformers in!




So, Julie gets ready to finally summon Gorem. For some reason, this makes her glow
red as she kicks up her heel, as if this turned into reruns of Jem.

Jem! Jem is excitement! Ooh, Jem! Jem is adventure!


Gorem shows his power by bonking Billy's Bakugan on the head. OK. So, that's Gorem.
He powers up even further to combat Billy.

I HAVE THE POWER!


Cycloid comes back onto the field, and attacks again! My god, anime! Quit dragging
this shit out!

Cycloid's hammer breaks, and Gorem finishes the match with one punch. And there
was much rejoicing. (Yay.)



Back at home, Julie shows her friends Gorem. Look at how little he is! There is more
shilling and Jar Jar Binks behavior from Preyas, and the episode ends. So that's Gorem.




My word, this was awful. About that question Bocaj Nosirrah raised, I started this
blog to say that people who make anime shouldn't have to resort to clichés and
plagiarism, when far more memorable series could be made instead.


True to being the fourth Bakugan recap, “A Perfect Match” is definitely the worst
of the four episodes I've recapped here. I am not doing any more recaps of the original
series. Next time I do a Bakugan recap, I'm moving on to New Vestroia.

I also notice that September is coming, so I think I'll make all the recaps for that month
of one series. I won't say which one yet. Let's just say it's an anime I have a deep personal
hatred for. Steven out.













Friday, August 17, 2012

Recap: Gray and the Blues


Hello again. As you all know, I'm not a fan of the Bakugan series of anime. I have
spent all four years it's been in existence disliking it, and a year of that mocking it. The
animation is not very good, the writing is tired and cliché, and the characters are as flat
as an open can of Mountain Dew Voltage.

Even with that on the table, this was not the first attempt to make a series of its kind.
Before that, there was a series called B-Daman, which was created to sell a series of toy robots
that fired marbles at each other. Though the series had been around in Japan since 1993, the
success of Beyblade convinced Hasbro to buy the US rights from Takara in 2004, with the third
anime based on the series, Battle B-Daman, being dubbed for English-speaking audiences in
2005. As it turns out, the toys were prone to breaking, given a design flaw in many molds
and shoddily-made parts, and the brand did not do as well as Hasbro hoped. The anime was
also not the biggest hit, as its US run was canceled after the first season due to poor ratings
(though the second season did air in Canada on the popular Teletoon block).

As time passed, however, the series began circulating online and it gained an affectionate fanbase who enjoyed the bizarre nature of the dub; as it was discovered that
the same people behind the dub of the first three seasons of Digimon produced it. Unlike
Duel Masters, B-Daman actually managed to do the gag dub justice by taking the
ridiculousness of the concept and running with it.

Even so, the series is as silly as all get-out; as you'd very well expect a series about
robots that shoot marbles to be. So, I'm going to do a recap of an episode out of context to
give you an idea about how strange it is. I have chosen “The Gray and The Blues” as my
target. So, let's open this one up.




Rather than a cold opening as we've been getting with most of the anime I've recapped,
we get right on with the theme song. As with Ouran and Dinosaur King, this is the first time
I've listened to the theme song. What do I think? Well, the tune isn't half bad, and the opening
does a good job of showcasing the action and the unusual characters of the show.

We open on a group of cats recapping the events of the previous episode on their TV.
Our male lead, Yamato, and his cohorts Gray and Bull went to a glacier in the mountains in
order to find a new B-Daman, Chrome Zephyr. They were then confronted by Wen and Lee,
two members of a group called the Shadow Alliance. You know, you're just destined for evil
when you enlist in a group called that.




Why are cats telling us about this? It turns out that Yamato was raised by cats until
he was adopted by a kindly woman. As such, a group of cats and their mother, a blue cat
inform us of all the “previously-on” hijinks.  




We then get our title card, with white text against a sepia-toned map of what is known


Back with our heroes, the glacier appears to be lashing out at them; as it wants Yamato,
Bull, and Gray dead.


Watch out! They're going to get stabbed by the Paramount logo!

Wen and Lee get back at them, and fuse their B-Daman together into a single, more
powerful B-Daman, Bakkurikuso. Only $12.99! Available at most toy and hobby outlets!

Wonder Twin Powers Activate!
Form of- a mecha that shoots tiny balls!


We then see a true oddity- an ion storm occurs. That's right, an ion storm in a glacier.
If that's not enough, we go into flashbacks of how Yamato met Gray.



Take me down to the paradise city where the grass is green and the girls are pretty, oh won't you please take me home?



Throughout the flashbacks, we see that Yamato is kind of weird. I would expect this
of him being raised by cats. I also find it odd that the show that preceded Bakugan has
better animation than Bakugan. Then, just as the flashbacks end, we see another cat;
who is presumably the leader of the Shadow Alliance.




You seek the Kwisatz Hedarach?



Yamato is very outgoing from being raised by cats. I mean, he looks like one, acts like
one, has the playful spirit of one...

The battle begins as Wen and Lee use Bakkurikuso to attack Yamato. Yamato realizes
his own robot, Cobalt Blade, might not have the firepower he needs. He then dodges all the
marbles shot at him by skating on the ice. And so, figure skater Yamato has worked the
projectiles being shot at him into his routine.


Well, you cats saved me the trouble of finding another clip.


The blue cat then exposits a bit more about Yamato's situation as we go to our first
commercial break.



When we return, we see Wen and Lee making fire tornadoes to attack Yamato, as well
as use o-fuda to block any counterattacks Yamato makes.




Yamato then asks Bull to help him, as well as asking for a cupcake. Bull complies with
the cupcake, then takes his hood down. A strange thing that happens when Bull takes his hood
down is this: he loses the chibi expression he has with it up, and grows far more confident;
as well as aging 10 years with a more serious face.





Bull produces an add-on for Cobalt Blade-the Wide Server. Only $8.99! Get yours
today! Gray then asks what they intend to do with this. Good question, Gray.


Dare! Dare to believe you can survive! You hold the future in your hand! Dare! Dare to keep all your dreams alive! It's time to take a stand! You can win if you dare!


Yamato then engages Wen in a B-Da Battle. The marbles come by twos and fours,
both players going at each other for the prize.

You've got the touch! You've got the power! Yeah!


The ice finally breaks on the mountain, and Wen and Lee attempt to take Chrome
Zephyr. That's not a good idea, buddy, I heard of guys who got murdered for PlayStation 2
systems back in the day.

Wen and Lee grab Chrome Zephyr. What dirty bastards! They then attempt to return it
to Gray. Wait. Do they want Chrome Zephyr, or don't they?


As if that's not enough, Wen and Lee go after Cobalt Blade. Now I'm reminded of those
incidents where people got stabbed over Cabbage Patch Kids and beaten up over Power Rangers action figures.

We then get Gray's backstory, which reveals he joined the Shadow Alliance in order to
help his younger sister, Rhianna. I shall set the mood here. 


Wow. I've been making a lot of Transformers: The Movie references in this recap.
Anyway, Yamato challenges Gray to a B-Da battle, possibly a fight, but Gray just leaves,
saying he's not going to hold back next time. Well, that was anticlimactic.

“Gray and the Blues” is a good episode to show case how silly B-Daman is. Peculiar
how a series that is well-known for having a gag dub I hated, but a series that I just watched
on a whim I actually found amusing. In a way, it was a good breather from the recap
of “Playing With a Full Deck,” and for the next one I do. As much as I like this show and hate
Bakugan, I'm doing another Bakugan recap next time. If I remember, it's number four, which
is a bad omen; as anyone who teaches you about Japanese culture can tell you. Especially given
the episode I chose.

One more thing: I'm not starting the next recap just yet. I may be getting a job writing
for a local newspaper, so I'm going to wait to see if any of the pieces I sent get printed, as well as write a few more. On top of that, school is starting again, and I need to register for classes;
buy some new clothes, buy supplies, all that good stuff. So, I bid you farewell with one more