Monday, November 19, 2012

TECHY TALK: AKG C214 Microphone

HiHi!!

As an Aspiring Voice Actress, 
I need to be able to audition online.
And what do I need to make that happen???
A MICROPHONE!!
So, I finally got one!



This is an AKG C214 Condenser mic, 
recommended by Crispin.
These mics are found in a number of studios today and have been greatly reviewed.
It was pretty expensive, but a decent price for what I got:
The mic itself, a nicely padded carrier along with the shock mount,
mic cover, Samsung Pop Filter, and XLR cable.
I had to purchase on my own,
a Phantom Power Source and XLR-USB cord;
however, I've been having a lot of difficulties with my mic....

For some reason, I keep getting a great deal of feedback??
If anyone can help me figure out WHY
and HOW to STOP it,
I'd greatly appreciate it!!

Anyways, it's a beautiful mic, and I can't wait tot start work!
But if I can't get it working properly,
I'll just have to save it for my future home studio...
Besides, I wouldn't want to damage it while living in the dorms, you know??

Till Next Time: 
Remember to KEEP IT GENKI!!
☆*:.。. o(≧▽≦)o .。.:*☆

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Car Trouble

HiHi!!

For some reason Bertie has been acting up!!
It started during the summer
with the tire pressure light turning on,
and the same happened again just two weeks ago,
AND I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO!

Luckily, this girl's father does!
And he happened to visit this past weekend!
Whoooooo!!
So, Bertie was taken care of,
so hopefully he'll be better from now on!?!?!

P.S. Dad didn't come to visit me, he came for the Dallas football game...
...whoooo...??
Haha, I feel so loved!


Till Next Time: 
Remember to KEEP IT GENKI!!
☆*:.。. o(≧▽≦)o .。.:*☆

Friday, November 9, 2012

A Jazz Dream

HiHi!!

The UNT Department of Dance of Theatre
put on another musical this semester!

I think concept was great,
having Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream"
in a musical setting; however,
this show has a long way to go before it can reach the big stage.

The show was supposed to be based out of modern day New York City,
and yet that was not very apparent.
The costuming was fantastic and beautiful, 
they played very well with the story,
but again, did not seem very "Modern New York."
After the costumes, the setting may have been my favorite aspect:
there were clear baubles hanging from the ceiling during the ball,
a large pyramid during the final performance,
and a magic-like forest for the fairies.
The lights were also great fun to watch throughout the play's progression.

Cast and Crew
Aside from the technical aspect,
The actors were fabulous!
And that's saying something, since it is Shakespeare.
They all had the language down,
and the singing was good.
Even though I did have some issues with the songs...
But again, this show has a long way till Broadway!

All-in-all,
the show was fun,
but not perfect.
Then again,
no show ever is!
But "A Jazz Dream" has promise,
and you just never know now-a-days.
Till Next Time: 
Remember to KEEP IT GENKI!!


☆*:.。. o(≧▽≦)o .。.:*☆

Monday, November 5, 2012

Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses

HiHi!!



In honor of their 25th Anniversary,
Nintendo sponsored the Legend of Zelda license to put on symphonic performance.
They're still traveling throughout the country, 
& I was fortunate enough to attend the October 12th Dallas performance!!!


I was able to record the whole intro!!
It was so beautiful!!!


But, sadly, my camera and phone ran out of space, 
& eventually DIED!!
Then my camera LOST all of my videos!
But, I have the memories, and that's all that matters!

The Legend of Zelda series is my absolute favorite game series,
& I felt so honored to be able to attend such an amazing concert!!
It was so nostalgic, I sometimes even felt like crying!
I really hope they come out with a soundtrack, because that would be awesome!


Till Next Time: 
Remember to KEEP IT GENKI!!
☆*:.。. o(≧▽≦)o .。.:*☆

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Naruto

HiHi!!

Ok, I'll admit it...
I'm a bit of a "Naru-tard"...
(>_<)


I started watching Naruto when it first aired in America 
on CartoonNetwork, back in 2005,
& I fell in love!!
I followed the story all the way through the Chunin Exams 
& on to the disappearance of Sasuke!
I already loved ninjas, 
but here was a comical Anime series about them
full of bright colors and great characters!
I absolutely loved the use of Chakra, which added a sort of magical element!
Every time the Nine-Tails' chakra would leak, I would get SO EXCITED!
I couldn't wait until the next episode aired!
I was even able to get my mom and little brother in on the series!
And sometimes I wondered if my mom liked it more than me, haha! 


I did start reading the Manga,
but only because my friend lent them to me.
I would really love to keep at it, but there are just SO many!
One thing I loved about the Manga compared to the Anime
was the fact that there were no Filler episodes!!
The only reason why I stopped watching Naruto for a while,
was because of them.
Sure they were entertaining, but they had nothing to do with the story!
(>.<)


My favorite character: Shikamaru Nara!!!!
(>//<)
It used to be Naruto (but that was way too cliche')
and then Shika started having more screen time!
And he was just so great!!
He's lazy, and sarcastic, but he's also passionate!
Not to mention he's a GENIUS!!!
...and it helps that he's quite sexy...
During the Chunin exams, we started to really notice his skills.
And during that battle with Temari, I couldn't stop laughing!


And then he was the only one to advance to Chunin level!
And that's when he started to be seen a lot more in the show!! 
I was just so happy! 
When Shikamaru led the team to find Sasuke...
That was one of my favorite arcs...
Shikamaru's brain power and love for his friends!
Oh my gosh, I cried so much during this section of the story!!


ESPECIALLY DURING THIS SCENE!!! 
Oh my poor Shika-chan!!!!!
(T^T)

All of my boys!!
I really just wanted to make a post about this show, because I love it so much!!
I'm currently in the middle of catching myself up on Naruto Shippuden!
AH! It's been so GREAT so far!!
But it's such a long series, so I know it's going to take FOREVER to finish it!
Wish me luck, my fellow "Naru-tards"!!

Till Next Time: 
Remember to KEEP IT GENKI!!
☆*:.。. o(≧▽≦)o .。.:*☆

Saturday, November 3, 2012

日本に行きましょう!! (Parts 5&6)

HiHi!!

Here are the next parts of my 
"Let's Go To Japan" series!!


In this video,
we visit the Tokyo Edo Museum,
which was really big and cool.
Then we had some free time
that we spent touring through Harajuku!
Afterwards, we got a bit lost,
and we ended up walking back from Harajuku to Yoyogi...
It wasn't bad, but my friends were pretty upset...
Haha, but I enjoyed myself! I even got to see a Japanese crow!
Why are those things so HUGE?? 
We even got stopped by a British man,
asking us if we knew Jesus...
Uhmmmm... awkward....
(O.o)


Episode 6 has one of my favorite intros...
One morning, when we had free time, 
I found this channel playing children shows!
But, they were shows teaching English,
and they were totally ridiculous!!
My friends & I will never forget,
"Blow Your Horn!"
Besides that, we visited a Tokyo University.
We ate at the hospital, made some friends, and found a pretty lake!
Not to mention all the awesome One Piece merchandise we discovered!
Then we moved into a Ryokan!
That night, I had one of the BEST baths ever!

Till Next Time: 
Remember to KEEP IT GENKI!!
☆*:.。. o(≧▽≦)o .。.:*☆

Thursday, November 1, 2012

Human Centipede Review

HiHi!!

**Warning: Movie Spoilers Ahead**

In honor of Halloween, I really wanted to try and watch a bunch of horror films before the big day! Sadly, I got really busy with work and was therefore unable to do so; 
however, on the final day of October, I decided that I was going to watch 
AT LEAST one scary movie before the end of the month! 
So, while browsing Netflicks, 
I came across a number of classics and great looking movie posters, 
but in the end, I chose to watch "The Human Centipede" movies.
.................(-___-)....................
This may have been one of my biggest mistakes EVER!
Now, the reason why I chose to watch THIS monstrosity was because of all the 
reviews and things I had heard about the movie. 
For one: I had heard that it was good... Ya, definitely not...! 
However, I DID give it a chance.


"The Human Centipede" is about two girls visiting Germany.
On their first night, they get lost and somehow get lost in the woods on a rainy night.
So, these brilliant ladies decide to go WALKING in the 
MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT to find some help.....
Uhm... ya, bout that....
Anyways, they happen upon the house of a creepy doctor who drugs them.
Next they wake, they're bound to operating tables in his basement completely naked.
After retrieving one more "patient," a random Japanese guy who yells a lot,
the doctor explains to them his plans:
To surgically link three humans together through mouth and anus in order to create
a human centipede.


So, the movie continues.
The operation is a success, and the audience witnesses the suffering of these poor people.
The sad thing was the fact that the doctor kept making me laugh...
Just the way he would react to some of the things his "pet" did,
or the fact that he seemed so overjoyed with his success.
I know, I'm crazy, but he just made me laugh, ok??

In the end, a couple of cops reach his home in the middle of the woods,
looking for some reported missing people.
The doctor drugs one, and eventually kills them both,
but one cop is able to shoot the doctor before going down himself.
Throughout this whole process, however, 
the human centipede is slowly making progress at an escape.
One of the girls (the back end of the centipede) is sick because of the operation
and eventually dies before the movie's end.
The Japanese guy slits his own throat as a statement to the doctor,
"I'd rather die a human, than like this."
With the doctor, the idiot cops, and her companions all dead,
she is left alone.
And that's how the movie ends.

So, even though it wasn't the best movie, 
I found it just a little interesting.
The doctor was a good comedy relief, and the science behind it all was intriguing-
is this really something a person is capable of??
Either way, after it was done I noticed that it wasn't really late
(only 2AM, no big deal).
So I figured, why don't I watch the second one???


 .............*lesigh*............
I seriously don't see WHY this movie exists!!!
It's just so disgusting!
At least in the first one I had the doctor to entertain me,
but in this one I just kept looking at the time, just waiting for the end to come!

"The Human Centipede 2" is a black and white movie set in London.
Sounds cool, right??????
At least, that's what I thought at first...
Anyways- the movie is centered around this mentally challenged man who lives with his mother.
For one thing, he is absolutely not attractive, 
and although the director went out of his way to do so,
this guy is just plain CREEPY!!!
Every time he had a close up, I screamed inside.
(my roommate was sleeping)
So this guy, a huge fan of the first movie, 
decides that he wants to make a 12man human centipede!
He starts killing and collecting people at his work, a car garage,
and disposing them in an empty warehouse.
And he has no mercy either:
He takes a pregnant lady and her husband, leaving their son crying in the car.


His ultimate goal, it seemed, was to get the original actress from the movie as a victim.
And he does, 
and she plays the completely ditzy actress asking no questions as to
WHY he was leading her to a dirty old warehouse on a rainy day!
...but,you know, whatever...
Once she arrives, he begins his work.
His anesthesia was bashing their heads in, his bandaging was the duct tape,
and how did he connect them all??
Yep, scissors, staples and duct tape...
I was gagging like the whole scene that he "operated" on them.
And because nothing he did was sanitary, people were just dying.
Eventually it got it working,
but in the end all the people died from either sickness
or from bleeding after pulling themselves apart.
The leading lady, the actress, fought back by force-feeding the guy his pet centipede.
Of course, this was after the pregnant lady, whom we all assumed was dead,
runs out of the warehouse in the midst of labor.
She runs out into the rain, gets in a car, 
THE BABY IS BORN ON THE CAR FLOOR
BUT SHE DON'T CARE!!
KUZ SHE JUST PUTS HER FOOT DOWN THE PEDAL CRUSHING ITS HEAD
AND SPLATTERING BLOOD ALL OVER THE CAMERA!!!!
........................
Jeezus, that whole scene I was just like: 
"Wait. WTF is happe- O GAWD, WHAT!?!?!?!" 
........................
After ALL THIS CRAP HAPPENS, 
the guy wakes up...
Turns out, he was just dreaming the whole thing.

.........So, ya..........
That is four hours of my life I will NEVER get back!
I can't remember who told me it was a good movie, 
but I need to go punch them, or something for having put me through that!!
Ok, I'm going to go watch some Disney movies, or Poke'mon,
OR SOMETHING HAPPY TO GET THIS STUFF OUT OF MY HEAD!
((Hopefully, next year the horror movie genre will be able to redeem itself.)) 

 Till Next Time: 
Remember to KEEP IT GENKI!!
☆*:.。. o(≧▽≦)o .。.:*☆