Vic Mignogna: Asshole?

   The beloved voice actor of Edward (or Edu) Elric attended Anime Banzai 2008, much to the organizers of Anime Banzai’s delight. In fact, they were so ecstatic, they raised dear Vic upon a pedestal, to that of comparable idol status, where Vic lived out his idolatry with flying colors.
   Vic, along with a handful of other voice actors, held a signing panel on the Saturday of Anime Banzai for two hours, where rabid anime fans stood, sat, and squeed in line for two plus hours waiting to have some stranger write on their stuff. At the end of the two-hour panel, there were still a hundred or more fans who had not gotten through the line, and much to their dismay, began being dismissed. Anime Banzai officials were responsible for crushing the idle dreams, hero-worship, and fan service of this hoard of fans, turning them away by gently explaining that the room was booked for a different panel for the next hour: Defend Your Series, a panel run by a cynic who forced silly otaku to defend their favorite, although mostly pointless, anime. Unfortunately for Vic fans, the cynics must go on.
   Fortunately for my friends, and not so much I, we went out to dinner at eight that evening. Down the street at a local, friendly Denny’s it was our good-luck, and similar celebrity worship that brought to us a pleasurable event. Vic was eating dinner there, too! What a surprise! Who knew that voice actors had to eat? A member of our party screamed, and so began an onslaught of on-the-spot graffiti all over our personal items, as well as probing questions into the life of an anime star. From that point on, I have been an owner of a Vic signature, signed “*heart* Vic Mignogna” in my Anime Banzai event book. Which much to my disappointment, doesn’t sell for much on Ebay- damn you, apathetic otaku!
   Afterward, the remaining members of our group sat through the rest of the Cosplay Contest, and then through the Closing Ceremony, where the finalists from the Anime Idol competition sung their final songs, were judged, and then crowned respectively with their awards and titles. It is during these performances that I realized Vic was an asshole. A certified prick, if you will. The elite karaoke artists did their thing, and the crowd went, in varying levels, wild and crazy. I myself could be heard yelling, “take it off!” to the final female singer, as well as swooning to the fourteen year-old channeling Frank Sinatra while dressed as Goku from Dragonball Z, who I later analyzed as “suave, classy, and better.” The aforementioned screaming member of my group was never more aware of Vic’s presence than this moment in time, due to the fact he was sitting less than forty feet away, and throughout the entire session of Anime Idol, she was screaming, “I love you, Vic” and “Have my children, Vic.” This perhaps is the most telling sign of Vic’s overwhelming vibe of asshole.
   As I sat there taking in the pleasant and not so pleasant voices of Anime Idols, Vic did various crowd-pleasing actions, such as dancing with the man sitting next to him, kissing his girlfriend, waving his cellphone in a delightful socially abstract representation of a lighter, and doing some Latin-esque dance moves to a particular song. Inevitably, the crowd mimicked Vic obsessively; waving their phones, clapping their hands, doing that awkward little Latin number… all in all, it became less about the talent, and more about the voice actor. Vic had stolen the audience right out from underneath the performers, and in essence, had out performed them. A disturbing theme to the entire Closing Ceremony.
   To top it all off, Vic received a gift basket from the organizers of Anime Banzai, commented on the hospitality and fun-factor of Salt Lake, and left his drinking glass in plain sight for the screaming, obsessed member of our party to froth at the mouth over.

Poll Results: Your favorite Tempest character was... ?

Your favorite Tempest character was...?

Miranda/Ferdinand/Fernando
1 (33%)
Prospero/Gonzalo/Alonso
0 (0%)
Trinculo/Stephano - Winner! *crazy crowd noises*
2 (66%)
Caliban/Sycorax
0 (0%)
Ariel/The Spirits
0 (0%)
Antonio/Sebastion
0 (0%)

1/25th of the way there, and you're jealous.

Here are some links for the first four that I've written.
I know you're all very proud.
And I'll try to contain myself.

1. Introduction [link]
24. No Time [link]
32. Night [link]
50. Breaking the Rules [link]

Robot Dreams

Just remembering that it was such a sad story.

I cry when I tell it.

I tell it, because it has no words.

Lyrics for Thought?

"Books Written for Girls" - Camera Obscura

You can compliment me on the style of my hair
Give me marks out of ten for the clothes I wear
You probably thought I had more upstairs
I disappoint you, I can see through your perfect smile

He likes to read books written for girls
Prides himself on being a man of the world
It’s in the darkest places he gets his thrills
He will disappoint you, if you see through his perfect smile

I think separation is ok
You’re no star to guide me anyway
You only wanted me to play the fool
Play by your rule

Now my door has swollen from the rain
God knows we’ll never see her face again
People get shattered in many ways
They can disappoint you if you see through their perfect smiles

I think separation is ok
You’re no star to guide me anyway
You only wanted me to play the fool
Play by your rule

Unfortunate Tag Placements, and the Like.

[ start Penelope/]
I never made the connection between Penelope and the Beast, from Beauty and the Beast, where the only difference between the plots seems to be that Penelope is a girl, and the Beast was... a boy? until perhaps now, after watching the 'making of the movie' special feature.
The movie was filmed in a style that reminds me of Mirrormask, except for the lack of the metaphor stick. Unless you count the "I like who I am" moment, which could be considered a beating with a metaphor stick, and actually plays into assumptions of syntax as well as how humans perceive information and suspicion.
She looked cuter with the snout.
[/end Penelope]

I have challenged myself to write 100 literary pieces, consisting of the inspiration/concept/theme/title/etc. from the list below. I'll update with links, I guess? I don't know. Maybe I won't keep you informed at all.

1. Introduction
2. Love
3. Light
4. Dark
5. Seeking Solace
6. Break Away
7. Heaven
8. Innocence
9. Drive
10. Breathe Again
11. Memory
12. Insanity
13. Misfortune
14. Smile
15. Silence
16. Questioning
17. Blood
18. Rainbow
19. Gray
20. Fortitude
21. Vacation
22. Mother Nature
23. Cat
24. No Time
25. Trouble Lurking
26. Tears
27. Foreign
28. Sorrow
29. Happiness
30. Under the Rain
31. Flowers
32. Night
33. Expectations
34. Stars
35. Hold My Hand
36. Precious Treasure
37. Eyes
38. Abandoned
39. Dreams
40. Rated
41. Teamwork
42. Standing Still
43. Dying
44. Two Roads
45. Illusion
46. Family
47. Creation
48. Childhood
49. Stripes
50. Breaking the Rules
51. Sport
52. Deep in Thought
53. Keeping a Secret
54. Tower
55. Waiting
56. Danger Ahead
57. Sacrifice
58. Kick in the Head
59. No Way Out
60. Rejection
61. Fairy Tale
62. Magic
63. Do Not Disturb
64. Multitasking
65. Horror
66. Traps
67. Playing the Melody
68. Hero
69. Annoyance
70. 67%
71. Obsession
72. Mischief Managed
73. I Can't
74. Are You Challenging Me?
75. Mirror
76. Broken Pieces
77. Test
78. Drink
79. Starvation
80. Words
81. Pen and Paper
82. Can You Hear Me?
83. Heal84. Out Cold
85. Spiral
86. Seeing Red
87. Food
88. Pain
89. Through the Fire
90. Triangle
91. Drowning
92. All That I Have
93. Give Up
94. Last Hope
95. Advertisement
96. In the Storm
97. Safety First
98. Puzzle
99. Solitude
100. Relaxation

SAT Vocabulary

(extracted from current studying)
SAT Vocab:

aesthete – one who appreciated and seeks beauty
acme – the highest point, as of achievement or development
alacrity – cheerful readiness
amalgam – an alloy of mercury with another metal used in making dental cements; a mixture of different elements
anathema – a solemn curse; a person or thing accursed; one intensely disliked
apex – the highest point
aphorism – a wise saying; an adage; a maxim
arable – able to be cultivated; farmable
arboreal – relating to trees
archaic – having the characteristics of the language of the past and surviving chiefly in specialized uses; belonging to an earlier time
ascetic – practicing self-denial especially for spiritual reasons
auspicious – foretelling well for the future
avant-garde – cutting-edge; new; experimental
aversion – a feeling of repugnance for something with a desire to avoid it; something decidedly disliked
behemoth – a huge animal; something of great size or power
bequest – a gift upon one’s death
bevy – a large group or collection; a group of animals and especially quail
bilk – cheat; swindle
breadth – a range or scope
brook – to endure; to put up with
Byzantine – intricately involved and often devious
capacious – able to contain much
celerity - cheerful speed
cerebral – intellectual
chagrin – embarrassment
circumlocutary - the use of unnecessary words in expressing an idea
circumscribe – to constrict the range of activity of; to draw a line around
circumvent – to check or defeat especially by stratagem
cloying – oversweet; saccharine
colluding – secret agreement or cooperation for an illegal or deceitful purpose
commodious – comfortably spacious; cozy
convivial – enjoying companionship and the pleasures of feasting and drinking
decorous – having propriety
denuded – made ineffective or infertile
desultory – aimless; lacking a plan or purpose
didactic – relating to instruction, lecturing
dilatory – lacking goals or purpose; aimless
dirge – funeral song
discretionary – based on personal choice; showing prudence
edifice – building
effacing – to obliterate or obscure by or as if by rubbing out
effigy – a crude likeness of a loathed person
effusive – gushing forth; unrestrained utterance
egregious – blatantly wrong
elicit – to draw out or forth
emollient – a soothing lotion
empirical – based on data, evidence, and/or experiments
enervate – to drain of energy; to weaken
espouse – to support
execrable – extremely inferior
execrated – to declare to be hateful or abhorrent
expurgate – to delete obscene or other undesirable material from a text
extant – existing
felicitous – suitable; pleasant
fervidly – very hot
galvanize – to incite; to arouse to action
harbinger – a messenger; an omen
hermetic – sealed in an airtight manner
histrionic – over theatrical; melodramatic
hubris – excessive pride
inchoate – not fully formed
incisive – harsh; cutting; vitriolic
incumbent – one who holds political office
indelible – unable to be erased; permanent
ineffable – incapable of expression in words
inexorable – steadfast; resolute
insular – isolated; remote
intemperate – excessive; immoderate
interlocutor – one who participates in conversation or dialogue
jingoism – aggressive touting of one’s patriotism
jocular – marked by jesting
juggernaut – relentless force
juxtapose – to place things side by side for the sake of comparing
lavish – to expend or give freely
legion – a very large number
leviathan – a large sea animal; something large or formidable
licentious – morally lax
milieu – environment
myopic – short-sighted
nihilism – a philosophical belief involving the rejection of established values and morality
obdurate – stubbornly resistant
oblique – indirect; slanted
occlusion – obstruct; to come together with opposing surfaces in contact
obfuscation – to obscure the meaning of
olfactory – relating to the sense of smell
onerous – burdensome
opprobrium – disgrace, disapproval
ostensible – apparent
panacea – a cure-all
partisan – biased; opinionated
pedagogic – relating to education; instructive
pedantic – narrowly or pretentiously learned
perfidious – disloyal; traitorous
philistine - a person who is smugly insensitive or indifferent to intellectual or artistic values
plaudits – applause; praise
pontificate – to speak in a supercilious and self-important manner
pragmatist – a practical person
precept – a rule of behavior or action
precipitate – to hurry up; to make happen before planned
predilection – an established preference for something
prescience – advanced knowledge; foresight; anticipation
probity – honesty; integrity
profligate – extravagant to a fault; prodigal
promulgate – to make known, formally, a law or set of beliefs
punctilious – marked by precise accordance with codes or conventions
pundits – erudite (learned, scholarly) persons
quagmire – soft miry land that yields under the foot
quixotic – romantic or dreamy
quotidian – daily; commonplace; ordinary
refractory – stubborn
rescind – to take back; to withdraw
reticent – tending not to talk or give out information
serendipity – faculty of benefiting (e.g. finding valuable objects) by random chance
sedentary – characterized by or requiring much sitting
spate – an outpouring
specious – false, not authentic; spurious
sundry – several; divers; various
supplant – to replace; to substitute for
surfeit – a surplus, an oversupply
sybarite – a pleasure-loving person
synergistic – working together and having a greater combined effect because of simultaneous operation
temerity – reckless boldness
tortuous – marked by twists or turns
truculent – belligerent
unctuous – inky, oily
untenable – unable to be defended
vaunt – to brag or boast
venial – forgivable; pardonable
verdant – green, lush
verisimilitude – probability; something that has the appearance of truth
vestigial – extremely small
victuals – food
vignette – a brief written description
visceral – relating to the abdomen; instinctive rather than reasoned
vitiate – to impair; to render ineffective
vitriolic – harsh, biting, caustic
Zephyr – a light breeze