The jungle is dark but full of diamonds.

Time:	4:08 pm.
Mood:	flirty.
Music:	"i'll be with you," by scott mallone.

THERE IS FOOTAGE FOR KINGDOM HEARTS II FROM THE TOKYO GAME SHOW!

Before I link you, let me say this: I'd rape BHK Axel-style if I had the chance.

1) Here's a very crappy recording, but it features BHK's "Dive to the Heart" sequence.

2) The quality of this footage is much better, and there are additional scenes (although some from the first recording are missing). I'm in love with BHK and he doesn't even have a concrete personality yet.

RAISE DA ROOF!!

I also received a 92.3% on my second Electromagnetism homework. You would not believe how relieved I feel.

[A bridge's keystone] 1 saline diamond // Just cry me a river.

Time:	2:03 am.
Mood:	cranky.
Music:	"spirits," from lumines.

I would like to take the time to comment on a few things:

1) E&M Lab is definitely not what I had expected. In the Mechanics lab last semester, I busted my ass for seven or more hours a week to do just one lab report. They were usually forty to fifty pages long, annotated from top to bottom, and pretty much perfect. The lab manual for E&M made the lab seem like it would be another Mechanics, but it's not: my TA explained that all lab reports are informal now, which means you can jot down some data, write some flimsy conclusion about it, and you're done. I guess the Mechanics lab was just a weeder class.

2) If I look at physics from a mathematician's point of view, it's easier. I have an assignment due on Friday night. It's hard.

3) I should have started my Differential Equations homework sooner. My hand hurts.

4) There is a motherfucking woodpecker outside and I want it to die.

5) I really appreciate Mike and Rick.

6) STOP PECKING, GOD DAMN IT!

[A bridge's keystone] Just cry me a river.

Time:	6:35 am.
Mood:	awake.
Music:	"the calling," by himuro kyousuke..

So.

Rick downloaded FFVII: Advent Children and let me mooch off of him. Keep in mind that I've never played FFVII, and despite the disappointment of some, this movie doesn't make me want to play it. Since I watched the movie without any expectations--there were no storyline elements I wanted to see resolved, or characters I had a bias for, or anything else--I can say that for what it is, it is one fucking awesome movie.

What it is: several fight scenes and the occasional visual gags, witty lines, and dazzling effects. The apparent plot seemed pointless, and at times caused the scenes to feel clumsy as plot devices (effects and characters alike) struggled to convey meaning. In short, I didn't particularly care about what was going on or who was interacting with whom--which was minimal, anyway. (I'm not the first to say this, but I won't be the last: at least it wasn't The Spirits Within.) Meanwhile, each fight scene was insanely fast-paced and awe-inspiring, and even though they disregarded all conventions of physics, I suspended my disbelief in order to just enjoy what they had wrought.

Reno's seiyuu is Axel's. I can only hope that Axel's dub voice actor is just as sexy and amusing.

I really liked the soundtrack, though.

For a (spoiler-free) review by someone who knows what he's talking about, go here.

[A bridge's keystone] Just cry me a river.

Time:	7:05 am.
Mood:	recumbent.
Music:	"paris holds the key," from anastasia.

Today is September 11, and while I expected that my day would be horrible due to all of the negative karma associated with this date, my day started off on a surprisingly good foot. I feel relieved, and that I now don't have to stress over yet one more thing anymore. It only figures that it'd happen on this day of all days.

Let's get the ubiquitous question out of the way:

So I was in my sophomore Pre-AP English II classroom when I found out about the World Trade Center bombings. (Earlier, before school, in the cafeteria, a kid ran by yelling that the Pentagon had been bombed. No one believed him.) Where were you?

[A bridge's keystone] Just cry me a river.

Time:	5:16 pm.
Mood:	bouncy.
Music:	"45 degrees," from lumines.

I did my Physics prelabs this morning, but I didn't get around to the actual Physics homework assignment. Fuck. I seriously need to do that tomorrow, or at least half of it, because it's forty questions long and due on Wednesday. I also have a problem set in Differential Equations due on Thursday, as well as prelabs and preparations for my Chemistry lab.

MY LIFE IS JUST FUCKING CRAZY. YOU NEVER KNOW WHAT I'M GOING TO DO NEXT!

Speaking of fucking crazy, I received Fillerbunny #3 in the mail from Resa. This is the funniest fucking comic ever. EVER. And I literally gasped when I turned the page and saw colored panels at one point. Most of all, I like how Jhonen kept poking fun at himself and the fans propagating on the Internet.

"But nevermind that because I'm riding the ... uh ... peanut train, I guess. Mmm ... this is ... (sigh) ... great."

[A bridge's keystone] Just cry me a river.

Time:	5:06 pm.
Mood:	indifferent.
Music:	"tin toy," from lumines.

I was going to update yesterday when I got home from school, but I ended up crashing for four hours and generally feeling very apathetic for the rest of the night thereafter. When I was about to go to sleep (around five AM!), I decided to tackle my Linear Algebra homework for some ungodly reason, and that kept me up another hour. (Anyone can do Linear Algebra if they know how to add, subtract, multiply, and divide. It seriously is easier than regular Algebra, which is a relief given how excruciating my other classes are. My professor was a flake during the first week of school, but she seems all right now, even though she tends to mumble and overlook signs.)

My Chemistry lab yesterday was just an introduction to what we'll be doing for the year. We got a hundred dollars worth of equipment checked out to us, which is kind of scary, but at least I got that padlock. I had to buy a special research notebook for that, as well as a research notebook for my Physics lab due to begin next week. I've spent almost one hundred dollars on manuals and research notebooks for two labs!

In other news, Rick downloaded the Lumines OST for me, despite it being a very large file. I love you, Rick--THANK YOU SO MUCH ... Anyway, my favorite songs are "Shinin'," "Lights," "Shake Ya Body," and "Talk 2 You" thus far.

[A bridge's keystone] Just cry me a river.

Time:	11:59 pm.
Mood:	tired.
Music:	"all these things that i've done," by the killers.

It figures that when I have no time to do anything but schoolwork, I crave being able to write. All of these ideas need to leave me alone until I have a break.

As for homework, I did most of the Electromagnetism assignment. While I didn't do too hot on it (79/100), I'm satisfied that I tried. I guess. Tomorrow I have to do the Differential Equations assignment I had no time for tonight.

The season finale of Reno 911 was fucking crazy.

Wow, I'm tired.

[A bridge's keystone] Just cry me a river.

Time:	11:44 pm.
Mood:	refreshed.
Music:	"indie rock and roll," by the killers.

Okay, friends. I haven't brought this up yet due to all of the New Orleans stuff and generally feeling like a douche bag for being privileged (survivor's guilt when I'm not even a survivor at all?), but I think it's time you all know:

I got a Sony Playstation Portable a few days ago. That's right: a PSP. My dad bought me one for my birthday and Christmas, even though it has been almost a year since I last said I wanted one. My initial reaction was "What the hell?"--but seeing as how fucking awesome this thing is, I can't just take it back.

The first game I got was Lumines, which should be required for every PSP owner. It's the progeny of Tetris with a different style of making and deleting lines, but infinitely cooler because you create pretty, addictive music while you play. My highest score is 65,000 or something right now, which isn't very much at all, but I've only been playing for a few days. Aside from playing Lumines, I've put music and videos on this thing, gotten a more competent web browser and keyboard, and messed around with both PSP-IRC and PSP-AIM.

The hardware itself--mine is black, which I think looks nicer than the up and coming white version--is as sexy as all the pictures would have you believe. Both audio and video qualities are excellent, while all of the buttons are responsive without being too sensitive. The only con, which is actually rather important, is that you could destroy this expensive piece of equipment just by dropping it on the ground. Compared to the GBA SP, which I have nearly crushed a billion times, the PSP is made of bone china.

And that's my review. I have Physics homework due on Wednesday night.

[A bridge's keystone] Just cry me a river.

Time:	6:46 pm.
Mood:	annoyed.
Music:	nothing.

I've got five more things to say pertinent to Louisiana:

1) This is the best debate I've seen thus far.

2) This is the best explanation for both federal and state governments I've seen thus far.

3) Two words: Spheres of influence. Yes, I know that's three words. See below.

4) O'Reilly managed to point out the obvious: whenever you rely on the government, you will be disappointed. If your doctrine wants to give the federal AND state governments more influence over citizens, no matter what party they all are, you should take a second look. Along this vein, the state government thought they could handle it. OOPS. Federal versus state governments' rights--state sovereignty--was the hot-button issue behind such wars as the Civil War, although I'm not saying this will inspire a civil war at all. There has always been a struggle.

5) The latest poll says that, of course, approval and disapproval all depends on what party you are.

[A bridge's keystone] Just cry me a river.

Time:	9:22 pm.
Mood:	irritated.
Music:	"for all time," by soluna.

ALERT!

Let's get some perspective here. Those buses the tourists got to get on first in Louisiana? All of this outrage? I can forgive Shep Smith and Geraldo, who are at the ends of their ropes, but those of us who can chase stories ... Here's an interesting fact: those tourists paid $25,000 to get out of that city by hiring buses, and the government seized said buses for the residents elsewhere. The least Nagin could do was make sure the tourists still had their seats for contributing to the evacuation. I know it's Teh Unfair that these people* had money to work with, but let's face it: any one of us with the cash would've done the same thing.

I think this picture sums up my feelings for the Internet lately. Donate cash if you can and worry about who's responsible later. (If you can avoid the Red Cross, do so, since something like what happened to 9/11's contributions might happen again.)

* "These people" include the tourists, as well as any college kids who had administrations caring about them enough to stage immediate evacuations. The reason why people were or were not evacuated at any one time had to do with the potential for lawsuits. Yes, Virginia, money is all that matters.

[A bridge's keystone] 1 saline diamond // Just cry me a river.

Time:	1:04 pm.
Mood:	cynical.
Music:	nothing.

Rick was right when he said it is human nature to blame someONE whenever someTHING goes wrong.

I wish people would just do whatever they can to help and go back to what the Interent is all about: free porn. We can play the hot potato blame game after everybody's back on their feet, because otherwise we risk the chance of eating ourselves alive before anything is done. Right now I don't care who built the levees, or when FEMA was mobilized, or if a giant mutated duck is claiming to have sent the hurricane. I do care about putting my lunch money in a donation jar at school.

But I'm just a cynical, conservative kid mooching off of my middle-class parents. What do I know?

[A bridge's keystone] Just cry me a river.

Time:	10:00 pm.
Mood:	awake.
Music:	"all about us," by t.a.t.u.

Today I had the first lecture of Differential Equations. Not much of it made sense while I was in class, but when I got home and rewrote my notes while reading the book, all of it clicked in my head. HELLZ YEAH. The first topic is First Order Linear Equations, which you can cry at the sight of by looking at this handy tutorial.

The most important step that my professor neglected to mention: u(t) = ℮^-∫a(t)dt

I think too much when I'm lying in bed.

[A bridge's keystone] 6 saline diamonds // Just cry me a river.