A mask, a-masked, oh my!

I tend to look up things on Etsy on a whimsy, more to window shop than to actually seriously buy. This time, with autumn - and the Halloween season - approaching, my thoughts turned to masks.

There are some seriously cool pieces out there, and though most of these price tags make me wince, there's no denying they're amazing nonetheless. Here are some of my favorites:

TheSixthPetal's Stone Face Half Mask ($36 USD)


BedfordFalls's Caillech Mask ($70 USD)


Pilgrimage's Fire Elemental Leather Mask ($125 USD)

A rant on the American manga industry.

As I find myself falling back into manga yet again, I inevitably find myself wondering once more, why are the books so bloody expensive!?

With each volume costing $9.99 USD + tax, and many of the more popular series having more than 15, 20 volumes and still ongoing, it's no wonder so many people look to scanlations instead of buying. I have yet to figure out what can justify that price tag for a volume... especially when I've seen Chinese translations of the same volumes going for $40NTD, roughly $1.25 USD. It's unfortunate, especially because scanlations are no guarantee for quality. (And yet, I remember the Prince of Tennis officially translated manga, and the liberties which Viz took to editing it. So perhaps official manga aren't as much of a guarantee either.)

Undoubtedly, translation costs might be more expensive in the US, as well as licensing costs. One might also argue that the companies here use better paper - and yet, I'm fairly sure most fans would prefer a cheaper version with slightly poorer quality paper. Does that all add up to $9.99 USD though? Or is this just a holdover from the idea that all comics should cost that much - when most American comics are full-colour and really do cost more to print. I'm sorry, but I just can't see a single manga volume being worth that much. Perhaps it's even to support those series that are losing money. Guess what, though! If you made it cheaper, likely more people would be willing to fork up the cash. Heaven knows I do for regular novels. Surprisingly, fans actually do want to support the series they like! It doesn't help my disgruntlement that companies will pick up a series, and then drop it before they finish it completely. Now, it's marked as licensed, and yet those last few volumes will never get translated.

Please though, change my mind. Tell me why I should pay this $9.99 price tag, instead of, say, buying Chinese volumes and then reading scanlations. Tell me why I should support these companies that just seems to want to rip me off. I'm really, honestly curious.

Really, what's a fan to do? I'll just be over here, buying used volumes instead.

And she returns!

Well, that was a bit of an unexpected hiatus, as summer lessons and then jet lag ended up slightly overwhelming. But I'm back in California, folks! And I'll hopefully have more time for this blog.

In the meanwhile, I'd just like to say that I have discovered maple candy, and I am enamoured. The brand I got my hands on is made by Brown Family Farm, and you can buy some for yourself at their website here. Do be warned that the candies are rather sweet - it's like a maple sugar cube just melting in your mouth - so if you've not got much of a sweet tooth, it might not be for you. Otherwise? Delicious.

Quick Bookish Thoughts

Graduating has meant having more time to start on that giant "to read" list I've been compiling. It also means having the time to go through those impulse books I end up buying whenever I wander through a book store.

Some quick thoughts so far:
The Percy Jackson series by Rick Riordan - I admit, I decided to check out the series because the movie poster looked interesting, and well. Greek myths! How could I not? And though I ended up not watching the movie (ticket lines being ridiculously long + hot and humid Taiwan evenings), I did get my hands on the first book after all... and then marathoned through that, went back to the bookstore for the second book the next day, and eventually marathoned through the entire series. My poor wallet, but it was so, so worth it. It's fun! It's heartwarming! The Greek gods are truly all too human, as they should be. (The portrayal of Hades in this series was awesome.) I love the entire cast and now I'm really curious what the follow-up series in this 'verse will be like.

Druids by Morgan Llywelyn - First Greek mythology, and then the Celts. As of now, I'm halfway through Druids and somewhat ambivalent about whether I want to pick it back up. The first half was intriguing, with the protagonist Ainvar starting to develop into himself as a person, with the book beginning to unfold the different conflicts between the Romans and the Celts and the Germans, with the worldbuilding in general. As a protagonist, Ainvar is intensely flawed - he's selfish and seems willing to do almost anything to get what he wants; undoubtedly some of it is the symptom of his youth and the mantle of power he has yet to grow into. But it's also the fact that he's so selfish that has me a little wary of progressing in the book, now that it's dealing with him and his women troubles, and him wanting his cake and eating it too. Because the book is written in first person from Ainvar's point of view, there's this automatic implication that the actions Ainvar takes are good or positive choices, when as a reader some of those choices are absolutely cringe-worthy. It's a tone issue that's not terrible enough to keep me away, but at the moment, it's making me reluctant to get back to it.

The Kingdom Beyond The Waves by Stephen Hunt - I have... yet to get past the second chapter, to be honest. Which is really sad, given I was hoping for a fun steampunk read and instead got something that made me really uncomfortable thanks to the book's narrative tone. The problem is I'm also having difficulty trying to pinpoint exactly why I have such a problem with the book, and I just can't. I'm sorry.

Nine Gates by Jane Lindskold - After reading Nine Gates, I somewhat suspect it is in fact part of a series, and not the first book besides. Despite that fact, it lessened none of my enjoyment of the book; indeed, it was easy to get into and pick up what the situation was, even if I didn't know firsthand some of the events the characters referred to. It was easy enough to get a general gist from context. This was another book I couldn't put down once I picked it up, and even more delightfully, it had not a few strong female characters. (In fact, they truly stole the show, I thought!) My only real issue with the book was the names. Yes, for the Orphan Earth branches, maybe they really do call themselves "Pearl Bright" and such. But I can't imagine those from the Lands introducing themselves as "Righteous Dragon" or "Waking Lizard" when the language they'd be speaking would have them pronouncing it as, you know, Chinese. (Nor are all Chinese names so neatly translated so!) I ended up with the impression that the author was just trying to make them sound more ~exotic~. Which for former famous actress Pearl Bright is one thing, but for the rest of the cast, is more than a little silly. Still, will I be looking for the rest of the books in the series? Oh, definitely.

The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan - What can I say? I knew I loved Brennan's writing and that she could craft a strong plot, based on having read her previous, more fannish projects. Indeed, I was not disappointed at all by her first original work. Here you had a book that refused to fall into the tropes common to many young adult literature, that focused on familial bonds despite how difficult that could be at points. I was delighted by the fact that the romances weren't really a point of the book at all; they were just there, as yet another aspect of their lives. The plot was well-paced and never boring, and with the strong cast of characters, this book is definitely not something to miss out on. (Also, I am giddy about the fact that we have a homosexual character to whom being homosexual is nothing remarkable. Just, yes, I want more of this, please. Sometimes, being gay is not a big deal! Ideally, being gay shouldn't be a big deal, just like being straight isn't!)

Conclusions: I need to get the next book in The Demon's Lexicon series, as soon as it's out in paperback, though waiting will be frustrating. Same goes for hunting down the other books in Lindskold's series and Riordan's. I'll be giving Druids another chance when I get in the mood for it, but I think at this point I'm giving up on The Kingdom Beyond The Waves.

o7/o9/2o1o - 奇哥 Chico @ XinYi's Eslite

It turns out that XinYi's Eslite store (4th floor, music section) brings in live music acts every Friday from 8-9pm, as I discovered while browsing their quite decent indie section. (They even have vinyl! Bloody expensive vinyl, but still!) Today's turned out to be a bass- and violin-wielding duo going by the name of 奇哥 (Chico). I suspect they were father and daughter, but I'm not... actually sure? But even if they weren't amazing, they certainly weren't terrible either, and at the very least, they were really, really bloody entertaining.

They kicked it off with an original song called 晚安, which was lovely to listen to even if the lyrics didn't seem to scan well in some places. It wasn't bad until the song apparently reached a section that consisted of the vocalist/bassist speaking out "Good night!" in different languages, most of which were pretty accented and kind of squashed together to fit into the song besides. I'm sorry, but I just couldn't think of it as anything but utterly hilarious.

What followed after was a somewhat scattered monologue on how much he loved playing bass and also how he was Very Sad that Germany lost in the World Cup. Keep this in mind, because this was essentially his theme the entire hour the show ran when he wasn't playing music - how bass was awesome and also rambling on about the German football team. He even attempted to teach us how to say "Out!" in German (Weg, if you're curious), holding up a red card he'd written the word on as he did so. He really was just really entertaining, even if by then I was slightly sceptical about his music.

I'd like to say right now though, that the violinist was awesome. And I am sad that she does not play on the CD I bought from them afterward.

But continuing on in the vein about how he loved to play bass, Chico regaled us on a story about how he used to play guitar! And decided he liked bass better. And then decided to see whether he could play Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven on bass. He could, he learned, and so he figured it out on the bass, and then decided he could play it for the public! But given his public was Taiwanese, he realised, he needed to translate it! So yeah, it turned out he'd prepared to play for us Stairway of Heaven, with the lyrics translated into the Taiwanese dialect - which let me tell you, the translation doesn't exactly fit into the song's measures in the first place.

I was staying pretty much for the entertainment value at this point, but after, the show really seemed to begin. There was still hilarious chatter about his love for the bass and such, but the original songs they began to play then were actually pretty nice to listen to, especially with the violin. (Really, the violin meshed with the bass so, so well.) The lyrics were still somewhat iffy in places, but they weren't ridiculous, which at that point I thought was good enough. The second to last song played - 磨菇之歌 - was my favorite.

Overall, I thought they had strong instrumentals but the lyrics could be much, much improved. Nor does the CD really show how awesome the instrumental is, because it's only the dude and his bass! Which is very sad, in my opinion. Still, it was pretty awesome, considering I wasn't even expecting to see a live show tonight. (And now I have Cats On Fire's album "Our Temperance Movement" to listen to, too!)

Silian Rail & By Sunlight - A/SUNG SURRENDER

Apologies, this post has been awhile in coming.

Silian Rail and By Sunlight introduced a joint EP during their recent May tour, which included two new songs from each band. A/Sung Surrender does well to serve as a sample of what kind of music to expect from both bands, especially if one is new to either.

After having heard Silian Rail live, what came tumbling through my computer speakers was almost disappointing in comparison. There just wasn't the same sense of intensity, like when the music charged forth at the ~1:50 mark in "A". Obviously, one can't reproduce the live experience in a record; still I was expecting a bit more impact than I got. Nonetheless both "A" and "Faith NC" were

What had drawn me to By Sunlight in the first place had been their lyrics as much as their style; in this regard, both "Sung Surrender" and "No More Miracles" more than satisfied me. For example, "We turned to disguise all our moves and murmurs/With closeness kept you hypnotized/I lost you there in a sung surrender/As movement stilled and slowly died" scanned brilliantly and was some lovely imagery to boot. On the other hand, as much as I loved the lyrics of "No More Miracles," I felt the song as a whole was too drawn out. In general, I tend to be of two minds concerning By Sunlight's longer songs - I love the pure instrumental that comprises of half the length of these songs, but at the same time I think they overdo it. Even with one of my favorites - "Twilight Shy" from their previous album - I felt that cutting it off at the six minute mark would have made the song stronger. For "No More Miracles" it took five minutes to reach peaking point. With such a slow build-up, the song definitely would have been better off ending at the climax than spending another three minutes breaking down the tension again.

Perhaps I'm missing the point.

Still, I like the EP well enough, both bands' sides of it. And hey, if you're a fan, or merely want to sample their music, it's a good place to start.

Stornoway - Beachcomber's Windowsill

Stornoway's debut album has turned out to be a treasure of a find since I first stumbled upon it at my local record store.

Beachcomber's Windowsill is eleven tracks of absolutely charming songs. Labeled as indie/alternative pop, the Oxford band's songs in truth are more flexible in identity, showing elements of folk and rock amongst other genres. There's something pure and joyous about these songs and the way they celebrate simple love and life.

Musically, Stornoway has taken full advantage of their resources. Not content to limit themselves to the traditional guitar-bass-drums(-keyboard) combo of a typical band, Stornoway brought in guest musicians to add brass and strings for several of their tracks, in addition to the band's own considerable skills both vocal and instrumental. I was delighted the first time I heard "I Saw You Blink" and its chorus with intertwining vocals. As well, both "We Are The Battery Human" and "Here Comes The Blackout...!" clearly showcased how well the members of this band harmonized with each other. "The Coldharbour Road" was hauntingly beautiful and made good use of strings.

Overall, Beachcomber's Windowsill is both foot-tapping fun and slower, poignant beauty. If you are able, I hope you do pick up the album. (Details of where to buy it can be found on their Myspace page, which I've linked at the start.) I look forward to seeing what this band will do in the future.

Beachcomber's Windowsill tracklist:
1. Zorbing
2. I Saw You Blink
3. Fuel Up
4. The Coldharbour Road
5. Boats And Trains
6. We Are The Battery Human
7. Here Comes The Blackout...!
8. Watching Birds
9. On The Rocks
10. The End Of The Movie
11. Long Distance Lullaby

Maides Treasuries

Maides Treasuries: "Spats, Cuffs and Jewelry Design with original Materials from 1900-1930."

If you're any lover of steampunk fashion, you've probably come across spats before. Maides Treasuries turns spats creation into an artistry, with elaborate and unique pieces that are as much decorative as they are functional. If you have the time, drop by her blog and check them out, if only to admire the amount of work she has put into each pair.

The Young Veins - Take a Vacation!

Expect fun and catchy tunes in The Young Veins' debut album Take a Vacation!. With its throwback sound of the 60s and the simple - if nonetheless heartfelt - lyrics, The Young Veins have created an album that manages to embody summer with all its wildness and freedom. On the heels of 'summer' often follows 'vacation,' and with tracks like "Defiance," "Young Veins (Die Tonight)," and the eponymous "Take a Vacation!" listeners get to enjoy a riot of that sensation of letting go.

Take a Vacation! is a solid album from start to finish. Despite most of the songs clocking in under three minutes, there's no sense that the songs feel too short. Indeed, it's more preferable than having each song dragged out to meet today's expectations of a "decently-lengthed" song and weakening the album as a whole. The album managed to nicely showcase its 60s influences without being too derivative, which had been a worry when I'd first heard "Change" as a single. Even then, though, "Change" had been an earworm, and the rest of the album is testament that The Young Veins haven't been just borrowing classic riffs wholesale.

As for lyrics, it's a nice progression from Ryan Ross's (and Jon Walker's) previous writing endeavours of Pretty. Odd. There's less of the outright fantastic imagery that was prevalent in songs like "Northern Downpour" and "Behind the Sea" - much as I loved it in Pretty. Odd., it would have been too much for the kind of atmosphere Take a Vacation! was trying to project. Still, there were some really nice turns of phrase: "I swear this like a sailor/Love is not a favor/I find it's just a concept that we live inside" of first track "Change," for example. I think the only song that actually disappointed me lyrically was "The Other Girl," which I felt was inane. (Nor did the song's subject matter help - I loved the tune but the words just left me lifting an eyebrow and thinking, really? "Life is not a fairytale/They will send him straight to jail/Where he'll die and go to hell/With the other girl" especially didn't scan well, and the lyrics of the chorus were just boring.)

My favorite songs have been "Young Veins (Die Tonight)," "Heart of Mine," and "Defiance." Indeed, it was "Young Veins (Die Tonight)" that convinced me that I couldn't miss out on this album - back when there were only three tracks available to the public, to boot. "Heart of Mine" and "Defiance" stood out for especially poignant lyrics with equally beautiful sound.


Take a Vacation! tracklist:
1. Change
2. Take A Vacation!
3. Cape Town
4. Maybe I Will, Maybe I Won't
5. Young Veins (Die Tonight)
6. Everyone But You
7. The Other Girl
8. Dangerous Blues
9. Defiance
10. Lie To The Truth
11. Heart Of Mine
12. Nothing Matters But You (with Z Berg of The Like)*
13. Funnel Of Love*

*Bonus digital download

Shiki by Ono Fuyumi and Fujisaki Ryu

Though people have always held an interest in the vampire mythos, recently pop culture perception of vampires has leaned drastically towards the romantic rather than the grotesque. From Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, to Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series and the television show True Blood (or, if you're more of an animanga fan, Hino Matsuri's Vampire Knight), the vampire of modern culture has increasingly become something glamorous and cultured, an object of forbidden lust with just that extra edge of "dangerous" to make them even more appealing. Somehow, vampires almost seem to be required to be physically beautiful, with just enough tragedy to garner fan sympathy. Perhaps the vampire woes over the fact sie is a vampire. Perhaps it's the pain of living to watch everyone sie loves die.

Shiki is not that vampire story.

Shiki begins with death and very likely will end with death. Set in the isolated mountain village of Sotoba, the story gives the reader a world that is tragically stuck in its ways and ripe for the vampires to pluck. The very environment of Sotoba does as much to foster the feeling of terror as the vampires that have invaded the village do - between Sotoba's closed-off nature and the villagers' determined denial of anything being wrong, the readers are left following with bated breath to see if anyone manages to escape at all.

Because Shiki makes sure to drive in the fact these vampires are monsters. No matter that they may retain the personality and beliefs of their former life, when it is the bloodlust driving them, everything fades in the face of feeding the hunger. Ideals on either side of the equation simply can't hold against it. The reader gets to see what the hunger changes in each character that has fallen to vampirism; with Shiki having no set protagonist but instead having shifting perspectives between all the villagers, the effect the vampire infestation has wrought becomes all the more apparent. Perhaps the most interesting aspect that Shiki explores is the choices characters make when faced with loved ones whom they know are vampires. There have been choices both human and terribly inhuman, and the consequences that follow leave one wondering which choice was right. Is there even a right choice in such a situation?

The beauty of Shiki is that the setting, the characters, the reactions are all just realistic enough to be plausible. It's what makes it so effective as a story. I always wondered why so many vampires of popular culture seemed to be glorified (immortal) humans that just happened to drink blood, glossing over the fact they were dead in favor of the shiny that was immortality and Biting Is Sexy. The nth tragic brooding vampire just got tiring to see after awhile.

Shiki is drawn by Fujisaki Ryu and is based off of Ono Fuyumi's novel of the same name. Fujisaki's very stylised art style lends a lighter air that makes the horror all the more impacting when it hits. People expecting art similar to that of Fujisaki's previous works (Houshin Engi, Waq Waq) might be in for a surprise though; Fujisaki has kept some elements of his old style and then pulled others to the stylised extreme. Nevertheless, it works for the manga.

I cannot recommend this series enough. If you're worried about the fact the manga is still in progress, don't - Ono Fuyumi's previous series (Twelve Kingdoms series, Ghost Hunt series) are ample evidence she knows what she's doing with a plotline. And either way, the novel the manga is based off of is finished already. So if you love a good horror or supernatural storyline, please check Shiki out!

Links for the interested:
Shiki Jump SQ page
Shiki Livejournal fan community

Image scanning credit goes to nataku_kun@LJ.

o5/25/2o1o - Evan Jewett, Silian Rail, By Sunlight @ The Blank Club

Evan Jewett, Silian Rail, and By Sunlight played last night at San Jose's The Blank Club. Despite getting there nearly a half hour after the listed time, I still managed to get there before the show actually started. (Sometimes, following the GPS is not always the best idea! Man, did I get lost.) I am so glad I made it though. The club itself was fairly empty, but then, it was a Tuesday evening.

The night started off with Evan Jewett (of Worker Bee), who kicked it off on a rather experimental note. Throughout the twenty-some minute act, Jewett managed the guitar and what looked like a crazy assortment of mixers, with the occasional vocals and solitary drum thrown in, while his drummer kept a steady beat as a backdrop. Jewett certainly made an impression through some seriously interesting methods of playing his instruments, including banging his mic against the drum, or even banging the neck of his guitar against the rim of said drum. It was a continual build up and crash, build up and crash that actually left me a little bit dazed when it was all over. Perhaps it's just that the style of music isn't my thing. Given how Jewett went the entire time without actually introducing himself or even speaking to his audience, though, the act felt like a whirlwind that had just swept on by.

In contrast, Silian Rail was a lackadaisical summer road trip. If Robin Landy's warm guitar brought the atmosphere, Eric Kuhn's drums carried the backbone of their pieces with intricate beats that kept my attention throughout their set. Kuhn also played harmony guitar in some of their songs, balancing the instrument behind the drum kit to pull off beats that accentuated the music. It was nice to see that they actually talked to their audience as well, introducing themselves and playing both old songs and new before advertising the 7" split with By Sunlight available for sale. They ended their set with another of their new tracks, a strong start and strong finish that at least gained one new fan in me.

Finally, By Sunlight rounded out the evening with their rock sound and sweet vocals. By Sunlight was the band I came to see, and they certainly didn't disappoint. It was a joy to watch them truly get into their music and play their music; my only complaint was that the sound coming from the speakers was almost too loud, with the guitars occasionally drowning out the voices as well. Especially following Silian Rail's set, it was like someone had dialed the volume setting up to 11 - it was just too much. Vocalist and guitarist Mike Sparks was especially active on stage, moving between his mic and the drums when he wasn't singing, and headbanging along as well.

Like Silian Rail, By Sunlight also played their new songs. Though I couldn't clearly hear the lyrics, the music alone lives up to their previous album and has already won me over. John O'Connell on drums was amazing, as was Jack Clemens on bass, and I can honestly say that every time Mike Sparks and guitarist/background vocals Robert Cheek harmonised, it was a little slice of beauty. After thanking their audience at the beginning for sticking around - it'd just hit 11pm by then - they powered through one song after the next, playing both new and old and transitioning with the kind of fills that makes up the intro of pieces like "Summer." Being able to hear "Ghost" live? Was wonderful.

Given the lineup and the genres, I wasn't expecting any major adrenaline high. The cocoon buzz I got was just as great, the product of good songs and that unique breathlessness that comes from the total immersion into music of a live show. Overall, it was completely worth the effort of driving down and navigating the streets of San Jose, just for discovering Silian Rail alone. If you get a chance to see any of these artists live - but especially Silian Rail and By Sunlight - I'd recommend going. (Alas, that I didn't have a camera aside from my dinky phone camera!) If you're from the Bay Area, Silian Rail and By Sunlight will be doing another show in San Francisco tomorrow, 9PM at MilkBar SF.

Now I have a Silian Rail album and the new tracks of By Sunlight and Silian Rail's 7" split to check out. Sweet.

The obligatory introductory bit slash test post.

So let's get this show on the road, eh? Lemme just power through the boring bits first, aka the introduction, which I feel is necessary, but ultimately a little pointless.

Anyway, hi, I'm Yun. My music tastes run all over the sub-genres of rock, with a good dose of pop and folk tossed in. My literary tastes lean towards whatever fantasy and sci-fi/dystopian stories I can get my hands on. I have a fondness for young adult books even though I'm pretty sure I'm a little out of that age range now.

I also love food. A lot. And window shopping whether it be physical or virtual, so don't be surprised if I squee out over, say, some seller found on Etsy.com or a store found in Ximending. And even if I don't watch television much any more, I still love me some manga/manhwa/comics/webcomics and will guilt-freely pimp them out.

Haha, all right, I'm done. That wasn't so painful, was it? Now keep an eye out for a show review soon; I'm heading to see By Sunlight tonight!