Sunday with vom_marlowe!

[oyceter]

First things first, I actually woke up in time for the farmers' market! I have not been for months and months, and given the pattern of this year and last year, I think I will simply assume that I will end up not market-ing for the winter months. I swear, it's the greyness. I didn't take home all that much, as I am just gearing up, but I got PEAS! English peas for the first time since October! Joy! I also got a basket of strawberries, which were sweet and not watery like the supermarket ones, a quiche and a little cherry galette from one of the bakers, a bag of homemade frozen dumplings, and... cherries! There are cherries out! I got a pound of garnets, which I don't remember having before. There were some other kinds as well, but the garnets were the sweetest. And there were peaches and apricots, though I didn't get any, as they looked like the season was just starting.

Oh summer! I missed you!

And then I headed over to SF to see vom_marlowe and take her around the city (if by "take her around" you mean "go anime and manga shopping"). We had lunch at Samovar, with very wonderful polenta waffles and roast duck; the duck was almost unbearably salty, which went perfectly with the syrup and the waffles, and I have decided polenta waffles are the newest Best Thing Ever, as the cornmeal adds some crunchiness and chewiness. Then we ran off to the big anime/manga store, which sadly did not have any good manga on their 60% off shelf. But I did not leave empty-handed, as I managed to score an Evil Shoujo Rukia figurine. Whoo!

Then it was off to Kinokuniya. Though first, I think we managed to terrify everyone on the bus by our conversation:

vom_marlowe introduced me to the zany world of Weiss Kreuz: "Yes! So they are florists by day and assassins by night. And they have code names based on their individual flowers of DOOM! Except they also have code names based on cats! And Yohji has a wristwatch with a wire he can draw out to strangle people! Oh! And then there's this side plot in which people end up in swimming pools missing a kidney. And eventually, one of them [Yohji?] decides that he likes strangling women for fun (with his hands, not his wristwatch."

(note: do not ask people for an introduction to WK on public transporation, as you will nearly die attempting not to laugh so hard you fall off your seat)

"Oh, then I checked poisons up on Wikipedia -- " said vom_marlowe

"Wiki! They have the latest information on Naruto down to the second, but only two sentences on the history of socks," I interrupted.

VM: "They had a lot on poisons too! Cain clearly uses belladonna."

And every so often, there would be insane giggling punctuated with: "Heads! In jars! Muraki! He is so insane!"

I fear that the bus denizens thought we were a plotting duo planning on poisoning people, reaping their kidneys, and then decapitating them for our collection of heads in jars.

We spent entirely too much time in Kinokuniya, which seems to do that to people. I managed to not spend a giant chunk of money on yet another Minekura artbook, despite the gorgeousness of the Wild Adaptor guys on the cover. But I did get my grubby little hands on Honey and Clover merchandise! There's this little book called "Seishun no Alubamu" (Album of Adolescence) that goes through all of the first season of the anime! With colored pictures! Episode by episode, with notes on what year Takemoto and Hagu are through it all! OMG, this will be so useful for fic.

Also, so pretty!

I nearly got H&C vol. 10 and some manga-sized H&C fanbook that will probably have tons of Japanese that I will be too lazy to read, but I put them down in favor of vom_marlowe's rec of Shojo Beat's Manga Artist Academy. Review to come (um, yes, I finished on the train)... And I got an Izumi figurine on sale! I am tempted to go back and get the King Bradley figurine too.

After being very full from curry, sizzling platters and green tea crepes, we wandered off to the bus stop, only to wait. And wait. And wait. And wait.

"Should we try the other line?" I asked.

"It's up to you?"

"Hrm. The second we get up, the bus is going to come, isn't it?"

"Such is the way of buses," VM agreed.

We waited some more.

"Argh! Other line or taxi!" I threatened the bus with. We walked off, only to (of course) hear the bus pull up just as we had gotten three blocks away. We raced to the bus, which paused. I swear the driver saw us.

And then it closed its doors and pulled away, leaving us to pant, curse, and wave our ineffectual fists of rage at the evil thing.

Thankfully, we got to the other bus line just as that bus pulled up, and this one waited for us instead of mocking us for our who-knows-how-long wait.

Comments

[chomiji]

>> I fear that the bus denizens thought we were a plotting duo planning on poisoning people, reaping their kidneys, and then decapitating them for our collection of heads in jars. <<

Years of rolepaying game geekiness has made me proof against worrying about this ... ! Sounds like you had a lovely time, though.

[yeloson.livejournal.com]

Jtown can do terrible, terrible things to your bank account.

[oyceter]

Heee! I was trying so hard not to fall off my chair.

[oyceter]

OMG yes. $3.50 for FMA figurines! Gah! And all the manga...

[yeloson.livejournal.com]

For manga, I usually go to Comic Relief in Berkeley when they have a sale. Usually the sales are about 25% all old manga, which is when I stock up. The store is also right next to Half Price books which you can find solid runs of manga when the students decide to let it go.

For anime, I also usually hit Amoebas or Rasputins...

Its a lot cheaper. Jtown is usually just for art books and food for me.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

Did she tell you that WK was based on the stage personas of a J-pop group? Or anything about the truly awful second series? :D

[shewhohashope.livejournal.com]

Awful in comparison to the first series?

Because I'm still trying to unsee that.

[oyceter]

Yes! I mean, I knew the first bit because my friend was very into it when it first came out (one of the seiyuus was in Gundam Wing, My First Anime). But yes, that just makes it even more cracked out.

And she mentioned the second series was one of those things everyone agrees never happened.

[telophase.livejournal.com]

The company started out making it by failing to get the permission of the woman who designed the original characters, so at a late date they had to delay it while they reanimated the four main characters with new, somewhat similar designs.

And that's the high point of the series.

The best way to see the first series is drunk with friends in a similar state of mind, watching it with really horrible fansubs that don't seem to have much to do with the original dialogue. The best way to see the second series is not at all. I watched the whole thing because I had a serious case of trainwreck syndrome, and I'd go pull screencaps for an LJ review except that would mean my brain would die.

[shewhohashope.livejournal.com]

I don't drink (being a muslim), but watching the first series with crappy fansubs gave me a good idea of what it might be like.

My brain has probably wiped out quite a bit, but the code names, 'The House of Kittens', the semi-incest-but-not-really, the hair and clothes still haunt me.

[oyceter]

Ohhh... Alas, I am not in Berkeley area often, though I mean to go by someday for the anime/manga store.

I actually don't usually buy anime; Netflix is my friend. Though I am sloooowly acquiring FMA via Amazon.com gift certificate.

I go to Kinokuniya a fair amount for the Japanese tankubon for series in which I cannot wait (Saiyuki! Come out faster!).

[oyceter]

VM also mentioned that it is entirely possible to read the fic without ever watching the show, hee! Though I suspect I will try some just for the knitting fodder.