American Gaijin
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The Russian Terror Attacks
I want to talk about the Russian terror attacks that happened yesterday. So, I want to start off with a disclaimer: I don’t like Russia (particularly its government). I also don’t like terror attacks. So my feelings are pretty mixed up and conflicted. So let’s just stipulate that terror attacks are bad and civilians shouldn’t…
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Writing my own Music
In my post, “The Music is Silent“, I wrote about my experience with the composer version of writer’s block. I’m pleased to report that I was able to write something. I’m not so pleased to report that I probably can’t use it. But the experience is still of interest. I ended up writing something that…
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The Music is Silent
I’ve been working on starting a composition over the past couple of days, and I can’t come up with anything. I mean I’m seriously at a loss. The music inside my head is completely silent. Which I don’t understand, at all. I’m usually not at a loss for being creative. I mean, I’ve been writing…
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Anime: Reconnecting with what was Lost
I’ve noticed in my site stats that I’ve been getting a surprising amount of visits from Japan. Konnichiwa! They probably just think I’m some American baka, but whatever. Anyway, I had an epiphany today. And if you care, I’ll share it here. I wrote a concert band piece a while ago, inspired by Sound! Euphonium. It’s…
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Self Control
In Love Live, there are a lot of different groups, and one of the interesting things is that each one has their own character to their lyrics and songs. The three main groups – mu’s, Aquors, and Liella, tend to write happy, cheerful songs that are supposed to be like, well, pop songs I guess. but…
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Why Anime Hurts
I’ve watched a lot of anime lately. Now, let’s be clear about one thing: I’m pretty picky about the anime I watched. Some anime that is very popular I dropped after as little as one episode. “The Quitessential Quintuplets”, for example. Maybe I’ll pick that up at some point, but I doubt it. It has…
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Hibike! Euphonium: My regrets
This usually surprises people to find this out about me, but I went to college as a piano performance major. I didn’t complete college for health reasons, but that was my major. I attended a medium sized college in Northwest Ohio (you have maybe three to choose from, and I’m very close to telling you…
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Eripyo and Maina
Last night I finished watching “If my favorite pop idol made it to the Budokan, I would die”. It wasn’t a great anime. I didn’t feel like I didn’t want to leave the world it created, like I did with some anime. It was actually just fair to middling, I even rated it 6 on MyAnimeList.…
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Anime, Otaku, and Lost Childhood
I didn’t get a childhood. I’m not really exaggerating in that statement, though as with every statement like that, there are nuances. It’s generally correct. I did not get a childhood. Every opportunity I had for “normal” development was stunted – either inadvertently or deliberately. The end result is the same. I didn’t get a…
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I’m a Failure
I always fail. If there’s one thing that is consistent in my life and has been ever since I was a child, this would be it. I’m a failure. Everything I have tried to do in my life has, in one way or other, ended in failure. Even the most successful things I’ve done are,…