Mercury Ice now has over 200 members... Again. For like the 5th time. Woohoo!

Also, Chris has given us some more reviews!

Crown of Glory: Emperor's Edition - PC
Droplitz - iPhone
Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 - Xbox 360 (Our 400th article!)
Dynasty Warriors: Strikeforce - PSP
Knights Onrush - iPhone
Fight Night Round 4 - Xbox 360
Toki Tori - iPhone



UPDATED CONTENT ANALYSIS
Book Reviews: 16 (7 (43.8%) by me, 4 by Zeth, 2 by thexdilemma, 1 by AcetylCoa, 1 by Nathan, 1 by Mystara)
Music Reviews: 41 (17 (41.5%) by me, 13 by Fritz, 6 by Mof, 2 by Cryssychu, 1 by Katiekat, 1 by Phunky Philosophy, 1 by ShinDenjin)
TV/Movie Reviews: 15 (10 (66.7%) by me, 1 by Panic, 1 by David, 1 by Linoud, 1 by Mof, 1 by Kijuki)
Video Games Reviews: 75 (27 by Chris, 20 (26.6%) by me, 10 by Aileen, 4 by ShinDenjin, 2 by Myke, 2 by Kennori, 2 by theshim, 1 by Fritz, 1 by Linoud, 1 by MrAndersonMan, 1 by Kijuki, 1 by Panic, 1 by Mof, 1 by Carnage, 1 by Morbid Anatomy)

Total: 147 reviews (54 (36.7%) by me)

Dinowoman has put up a lot of artwork recently (I think somewhere between 50 and 70 pieces) so be sure to check that out too.

Loveless by Yun Kouga (manga, AcetylCoa)
Atmosphere - When Life Hands You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold (album, Phunky Philosophy)



UPDATED CONTENT ANALYSIS
Book Reviews: 16 (7 (43.8%) by me, 4 by Zeth, 2 by thexdilemma, 1 by AcetylCoa, 1 by Nathan, 1 by Mystara)
Music Reviews: 41 (17 (41.5%) by me, 13 by Fritz, 6 by Mof, 2 by Cryssychu, 1 by Katiekat, 1 by Phunky Philosophy 1 by ShinDenjin)
TV/Movie Reviews: 15 (10 (66.7%) by me, 1 by Panic, 1 by David, 1 by Linoud, 1 by Mof, 1 by Kijuki)
Video Games Reviews: 68 (20 (29.4%) by me, 20 by Chris, 10 by Aileen, 4 by SuperShin, 2 by Myke, 2 by Kennori, 2 by theshim, 1 by Fritz, 1 by Linoud, 1 by MrAndersonMan, 1 by Kijuki, 1 by Panic, 1 by Mof, 1 by Carnage, 1 by Morbid Anatomy)

Total: 140 reviews (54 (38.6%) by me)

Thanks to Christine and Wiki! You guys rock!

I am really, really excited that we are not only getting more reviews, but that different people (read: not me) are doing them. Slowly but surely the numbers are going down, even if it's a few reviews at a time.

In other news, expect more updates soon, like in the interview sections and some of the member content (like music).

There's an anime con here in Evansville in February 2010 and I was thinking about going. Problem is, I'm not sure what I would want to go as, and if I did, who I'd be. I thought about doing Kaname Chidori (FMP!) or maybe even Ninian (FE, I like her outfit, not necessarily her), or maybe Sailor Mercury (Sailor Moon, duh) or Seras Victoria (Hellsing)... I mean I could do Tifa (FF) again like I did in high school for fictional character day or whatever it was during spirit week, but I dunno. Haruhi would be hard considering I've never seen The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya but I guess that would be an option as well, since people are starting to associate her with me. OH MISTY WOULD RULE! But it'd be kind of disgusting if I dressed up like her, actually, considering it's like, short shorts and a cutoff shirt. But it'd be so cool to bust out my Pokeballs again, maybe bring a deck with me like old times.

But ignoring all that, where would I even get a costume? Do people normally make them or buy them? What about wigs? Accessories? Do people go in character or just dress up? I've never been to a con, or even really seen stuff from a con, other than pictures from fellow LJ buddies (like Christine) who go, so I really have no freaking clue what I'm doing. It would be so badass to go though. I mean this is assuming that the con even ends up happening. It doesn't look so hot right now, but at least there's open discussion about it, and they do have a few months. I think it should be okay. I'm trying very hard not to get too involved... I don't want to end up on a committee or anything. Lord knows I have enough to do already.

I was also asked if I wanted to do a panel, but they want stuff on Otaku or Japanese Pop Culture, which to be completely honest I know nothing about. I had been thinking about offering to do a panel on character development for  roleplaying/fan-fiction/etc., but they didn't really seem interested. Which is fine. But I just wonder how many people they're going to get who would be willing to do a panel and know what they're talking about with such a limited scope, especially considering the area. I mean Evansville isn't exactly Chicago or San Francisco. Again, I've never been to a con, so they probably know a lot more about what they're doing than I do. It's interesting to watch it unfold in any case.

Four book reviews by Zeth have been approved:

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident by Eoin Colfer
Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton
The Lost World by Michael Crichton



UPDATED CONTENT ANALYSIS
Book Reviews: 15 (7 (46.7%) by me, 4 by Zeth, 2 by thexdilemma, 1 by Nathan, 1 by Mystara)
Music Reviews: 40 (17 (42.5%) by me, 13 by Fritz, 6 by Mof, 2 by Cryssychu, 1 by Katiekat, 1 by ShinDenjin)
TV/Movie Reviews: 15 (10 (66.7%) by me, 1 by Panic, 1 by David, 1 by Linoud, 1 by Mof, 1 by Kijuki)
Video Games Reviews: 68 (20 (29.4%) by me, 20 by Chris, 10 by Aileen, 4 by SuperShin, 2 by Myke, 2 by Kennori, 2 by theshim, 1 by Fritz, 1 by Linoud, 1 by MrAndersonMan, 1 by Kijuki, 1 by Panic, 1 by Mof, 1 by Carnage, 1 by Morbid Anatomy)

Total: 138 reviews (54 (39.1%) by me)



Thanks a bunch to Zeth! His reviews have resulted in a 16.9% drop in the percentage of book reviews done by me and a decrease of 1.2% when looking at total reviews.

Three new reviews have been added:

Assassin's Creed - Xbox 360, Play Station 3, PC
The World Ends with You - Nintendo DS
Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume - Nintendo DS

The (bottom) two by theshim are excellent. Morbid Anatomy's is okay. I think he'll get better with time, assuming he comes back.
 

UPDATED CONTENT ANALYSIS
Book Reviews: 11 (7 (63.6%) by me, 2 by thexdilemma, 1 by Nathan, 1 by Mystara)
Music Reviews: 40 (17 (42.5%) by me, 13 by Fritz, 6 by Mof, 2 by Cryssychu, 1 by Katiekat, 1 by ShinDenjin)
TV/Movie Reviews: 15 (10 (66.7%) by me, 1 by Panic, 1 by David, 1 by Linoud, 1 by Mof, 1 by Kijuki)
Video Games Reviews: 68 (20 (29.4%) by me, 20 by Chris, 10 by Aileen, 4 by SuperShin, 2 by Myke, 2 by Kennori, 2 by theshim, 1 by Fritz, 1 by Linoud, 1 by MrAndersonMan, 1 by Kijuki, 1 by Panic, 1 by Mof, 1 by Carnage, 1 by Morbid Anatomy)

Total: 134 reviews (54 (40.3%) by me)

I think this is good progress. Hopefully by the end of the year we can get everything down to under 25% by me.

I officially start Cognitive Psychology tomorrow. I've read part of the first chapter (we're covering all 14 in the class) and it's pretty interesting so far. I am not entirely sure it'll be relevant to what I want to study, but I also want to branch out and try other things, too; after all, if I hadn't done that with Psychology I wouldn't be where I am now.

I went to the dentist's today. I have a hole in my top right wisdom tooth, so they'll be taking all four out (which is what I wanted initially but my dad and the old dentist said no) when I get back from Germany (which I leave for on Saturday). They're filling a small cavity that I guess the other dentists missed on Thursday. I'm also getting a scan for oral cancer or whatever it's called at some point... I'm not a smoker so the risk isn't high at all, but it's just a good idea to get it checked.

I also went to a Student Writers Union/The Aerie executive meeting (which I had to leave early because of the dentist's appointment). I am the president of SWU next year and the Art Editor/Layout Designer of The Aerie. My Aerie jobs aren't terribly difficult; I review art when it comes in during submission times and say "Yes" or "No" and I make sure the layout looks decent. Huzzah. Being appointed president was a bit shocking but I'm excited. I have the rare opportunity of working with competent and hardworking people. It'll be great being able to trust people enough to delegate tasks to them instead of doing it myself.

I have a massive headache so I'll be going to bed soon. It's been kind of a depressing past few days. The end of the year always makes me a bit nostalgic and uncertain. I'll be okay though. I think.

Projected grades:

ENG 303 (Poetry Workshop): A -- Well, I'm thinking so anyway.
ENG 432 (20th Century Poetry): A -- Well, I'm thinking so anyway.
ENG 498 (Internship): A -- Well, I'm thinking so anyway.
GERM 204 (German IV, essentially): A -- Maybe? I never have any idea how well I'm doing in her classes.
PSY 303 (Research Methods and Statistics I): A (Without the final exam, I have 101%)
PSY 381 (Psychology of Gender): A (Final grade: 98%)

At least I'm done. It's been a pretty nice week so far. I got $106 back from selling books, which is roughly half of what I spent. All in all not a bad deal.

Also yesterday was a year with Michael. It was a wonderful day. He got me a really cute necklace (which I am wearing now), a Visa card so I can buy ad space on some websites, and flowers with a cute teddy bear. We got to talk on the phone and had a nice day overall. He was really sweet, like he always is. <3

A couple posts (or more) at Mercury Ice would do.

=D

Alternate energy, less plastic bottles and bags, recycle more, use less paper.

What's holding me back? The fact I live on a college campus and can't exactly demolish my apartment building to install solar panels or something, I need plastic bags for trash, and there are limited recycling opportunities here.

Aileen has donated four more wonderful reviews for the DS:

Big Bang Mini
BOING! Docomodake
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon
Princess Debut

Updated count:

Video Games Reviews: 64 (20 (31.3%) by me, 20 by Chris, 10 by Aileen, 4 by SuperShin, 2 by Myke, 1 by Fritz, 1 by Linoud, 1 by Kennori, 1 by MrAndersonMan, 1 by Kijuki, 1 by Panic, 1 by Mof, 1 by Carnage)

Total: 130 reviews (54 (41.5%) by me)

Thanks Aileen!

I love Michael Prazak. I know we'll get through any hard times, because we're willing to work on becoming even better for each other.

You're my favorite, Michael. <3

Book Reviews: 11 (7 (63.6%) by me, 2 by Michael, 1 by Nathan, 1 by Mystara)
Music Reviews: 40 (17 (42.5%) by me, 13 by Fritz, 6 by Mof, 2 by Cryssychu, 1 by Katiekat, 1 by ShinDenjin)
TV/Movie Reviews: 15 (10 (66.7%) by me, 1 by Panic, 1 by David, 1 by Linoud, 1 by Mof, 1 by Kijuki)
Video Games Reviews: 60 (20 (33.3%) by me, 20 by Chris, 6 by Aileen, 4 by SuperShin, 2 by Myke, 1 by Fritz, 1 by Linoud, 1 by Kennori, 1 by MrAndersonMan, 1 by Kijuki, 1 by Panic, 1 by Mof, 1 by Carnage)

Total: 126 reviews (54 (42.9%) by me)

I put up 3 reviews by Chris, 1 by SuperShin, 1 by Carnage, 1 by Michael, 1 by Mystara, and 1 by Nathan up today, for a total of 8 new reviews. That is really exciting for me.

Books went down from 87.5% by me to 63.6% by me. You have no idea how happy that makes me that less than 75% in every category is by me. Chris has caught up with me in the video game category as well, which I would be a bit hesitant about but there's much more variety in the video game section compared to the others (20 reviews by 11 different people) that I'm not too concerned.

The ones that I'm hoping the most for new reviews is books and tv/movies, though honestly I'm excited when anyone posts a review for anything. I'm still at a little below half overall for submissions, but honestly 8 great reviews to be put up in a day is wonderful. I'm really happy and grateful to all who contributed.

Is anyone good with Photoshop, particularly banners, and willing to do one or two as a favor?

I think it's definitely good. Name one bad thing about it, barring people stealing fetuses or some crazy shit, lol.

As for being funded by the government, I don't know. I'm conservative in the sense that I don't want the government spending a bunch of money, but in this case I suppose I'd say okay because it's going toward an actual result, an actual product. I want two conditions though: one, the government makes sure the money is going where it needs to go, and two, the government can't pick and choose who gets the treatments that come from it.

This really amuses me for some reason (and no, this isn't what you might think initially):

The Hours, American Beauty, Night at the Roxbury, K-PAX, and ummm... hmm... some Disney movie, like The Little Mermaid. I'd see if I could sneak in Anastasia too.

I was going to post, but now I don't even feel like it. I don't know what to say, really.

I guess I'll just let you guys know I'm back from Chicago.