Nicole Givens Kurtz :: Blog: July 2007

Sunday, July 29, 2007

Addicted...to Anime!

Today, I should be writing the third novel in the Cybil Lewis series. I'm in five chapters, and was going along quite swimmingly.

But I'm not.

Why?

I stayed up super late last night (Saturday) and watched Ichigo Kurosaki fight to save Rukia from her death sentence. After that I sat enthralled by Blood +, and then my personal favorite, after BLEACH, of course, GHOST IN THE SHELL:STAND ALONE
COMPLEX.

As the clock rolled to 2:00 am, I sat waiting for another dose of good anime. My body gave out and I headed on up to bed. With three sons at home, I'm not afforded the time to sleep in until noon to catch up.

So, here I sit. Burnt completely out of ideas because I can't stop thinking about Ichigo and the fact that on Wednesday, I get to go buy the next BLEACH installment, volume 20. The teasing torment of each new manga being released every other month threatens to tear me in half, but I struggle to stem the tide of frustration by reading something else, Hamilton, Harrison, Banks, Morgan, Parker, Grafton, and lately Rowling.

As I surveyed myself in the mirror through bleary eyes and caffine withdrawl this morning, I realize the truth.

I'm addicted--to anime.

BLEACH in particular. Ichigo is the teenage girl inside me's crush. (Just look at his picture above)His strawberry bravdo and absolutely courage makes me sigh. His stubbornness makes me laugh. When he's kicking major *ss, the action loving chick inside screams in hurrah.

Ichigo isn't alone. I'm also in love with Haji from BLOOD +. He's so devoted to Saya and he's there whenever the crap hits the fan, saving her. Don't believe me? Check out him out below. And, he plays the chello (Saya taught him). Beautiful. A bodyguard with smooth, careful hands.

Damn. I'm a serious addict.

The Major from GHOST IN THE SHELL:SAC is a cool diva. Because GHOST is set in the futre, the sf freak inside me won't stop watching, even though it's the same episodes all the time. I love it and I'm internally jealous that they thought of all the cool ideas first. The creativeness behind the science is stellar and as always I'm fit to be tied when watching it.

So, right now, I'm eagerly waiting for Wednesday. To starve off my trembles in waiting for Ichigo's latest English manga release, I went to the local used bookstore and found--you'll never guess...

SIX episodes of COWBOY BEBOP. Yep. It's old (1999), but it is my all time fav. I collect Bebop stuff whenever I find it and I have a satchel bag with Spike on it. I love him--yes, even more than Ichigo. That's him below, with the bushy black hair and smoking the cigarette. Casual smile and eternally handsome. Cute? Absolutely and he kicks butt big time. *sigh*

I have a BLEACH satchel bag too, with Ichigo's face on it, but hey, the BEBOP one's in plastic. I use the BLEACH one.

Teens look at me and give me strange eyes when I bury myself in the manga section of the bookstore. Clerks gawk at me when I ask about upcoming issues of BLEACH and THOSE WHO HUNT ELVES. I know, I know,it's totally silly, but I am so addicted, I'm hopeless.

Right?

9:35 PM | Permalink | 0 comments

Saturday, July 21, 2007

Purchased at 12:18. DONE Reading 9:43 (Harry Potter #7)

Yep. You read that right. I purchased my copy of Harry Potter and the Deadly Hallows at 12:17 at the Borders in Greensboro. I came home and cracked the book open at 12:47. From that time on, I read and finished the book by 9:43. I didn't stop except to go the bathroom. I had to know what happened to my favorite characters, Fred and George, Ginny and Harry, Ron and Hermoine so badly that sleep would be pushed back to second most important thing, beside reading.

Borders had a party from 9:30 to midnight, and I was there. There were fun things to do, but mostly for kids. I did lose three rounds of Snape Bingo. I wrote some and answered emails, chatted with my friend, Joan, who had been in line at the Barnes and Noble in Philly since 1pm.

Overall, I had a splendid time and was glad to be apart of such a historic event. My kids won't experience the Harry Potter series like this, the waiting, the parties, the drama of Rowling's next installment. *sigh*

But, I did and I was so glad to have done it. I'm not going to disclose any spoilers, but of the

seventh book I will say this... It was the most emotional stripping, twisting and knotting I have ever had in my life. It will be awhile before I sit down to read the book again, more slowly so hard the book was on my feelings for the characters.

Really. It's gut wrenching, well written and dark read.

Enjoy the photos. Remember, I was working on limited sleep. ;-)

Nicole

*Yeah, my tee-shirit read "MUGGLE". I didn't feel very witchy Friday night. ;-)