So. This is what I posted on Facebook a week or so back. Can't say it helps my case much, it being my case and argument all in one, but I felt it needed a follow-up, and I didn't really want to put it on Facebook. This is a journal for my personal rants and thoughts, and I may as well add it here too. But, I realised, not long after the whole incident had died down, that I was less upset at these girls han I was at myself. A little more digging, and I found out exactly why. I was angry because I let my guard down.

I've spent years cultivating an intrinsic lifestyle that prevents others from really understanding me. I've worked hard to allow my outer self to be that of a polite, refined, intelligent person, and kept the uglier parts- the crude, rude, stupid moments- to a bare minimum that I shared not even the full extent of with my closest friends. And I've always beleived myself to be a good reader of situations, so that I could act accordingly. And I told myself, at the beginning of that class, that the "ground rules", "Don't insult people or their ideas," and "This is a space where we can discuss without judgement" were hollow, empty rules that could no more be enforced than "We will not breathe". I told myself then and there I would have to be careful about what I said and how I said it, because no matter what happens, there is judgement, and I wanted to keep the judgement as light as possible. Obviously, that didn't last. And I hated myself for letting my guard down and allowing myself to beleive that any judgement on the topic I proposed would be light. Of course, that lay on the assumtion that they all- or at least one- of them had HEARD the term "Wigger" before. There is one good thing about getting the suspicion out of the way so early- people may see me as ignorent, but I've freed myself to speak more than usual. I can speak my peice, and then watch it settle. The whole thing has calmed down now, but that one girl- the one who called me ignorent- doesn't speak to me any more, except to shoot down my points. Oh well. I'm sure she appreciates the target practice.

So, I’ve been doing some thinking. Not very deep, soul-searching thinking, just random stuff, and an old idea of mine came to mind.

I think, personally, that the quote “A friend in need is a friend indeed” is misunderstood in today’s society. For example, it is often used as the base moral in at least one episode of nearly any children’s show, and used in such a way so that it proves that friends need help. While this is true, that is not what I find the quote itself to mean.

Let’s look at it in pieces: First off, you have “A friend in need”. This means that someone you know is in need. They want something, or need something from you. Then, “Is a friend indeed.” I’ve only ever seen this translated as a literal fact, showing that a friend in need is indeed a “true friend.”

I don’t think that’s the meaning.

I think the quote is meant to be taken in a more ironic way. Such as, a friend in need is a friend who will play suck up and helpful until they get what they want. “A friend in need is a friend indeed!” with sarcastic emphasis on the italics.

I find it odd how people manage to worm that as a good thing into our minds. It’s not! It’s merely pointing out the manipulative manner in which people can operate. Now, there is morality in the idea that a friend who helps a friend in need is indeed a friend, but he who is in need may not truly be a friend indeed. That’s all it means.

I was talking with a friend the other day, and I brought up the reason why I don’t mind people misspelling my name. “Do you know how many ways there are to spell Shawna?”

Now me, I was sarcastically emphasizing the five ways I knew of then. But my friend, who may be a tad more literal minded, thought we’d find out exactly. So, here is our list of the 42 ways to spell “Shawna”.

Shawna               Seana                Shauna                  Shana   

Shawnna            Seanna               Shaunna               Shanna

Shawnnah          Seannah            Shaunnah             Shannah

Shawnah            Seanah                Shaunah             Shanah

Shawnuh           Seanuh                Shaunuh              Shanuh

Shawnnuh         Seannuh              Shaunnuh            Shannuh  

Chawna                                         Chauna                Chana

Chawnna                                       Chaunna              Channa

Chawnnah                                     Chaunnah            Channah

Chawnah                                       Chaunah              Chanah

Chawnuh                                      Chaunuh              Chanuh

Chawnnuh                                    Chaunnuh            Channuh

Plus one weird one. People spell my name this way but it makes no sense.

Shanwa.

Yeah, a lot of these people just won’t use, like the “Ch” ones (It works- in some languages, “Ch” can replace “Sh”), but still, it’s a massive amount for one rather uncommon name.

On November 23 (when I should have posted this), the N64 game Zelda: Ocarina of Time celebrated its tenth birthday.

OoT is well known among gamers, as both a turning point in video games and a fond experience. In 2006 the magazine Nintendo Power named it the number one Greatest Nintendo Game ever produced.

But for me, it holds an especially sentimental place as my favorite game of my favorite series. OoT was the first video game I ever saw, watched, and played. One of my early fanfictions was based entirely on its plotline.

But in October of this year, VizKids came out with the manga version of the game. Naturally, as the obsessive fangirl I am, I jumped to buy and read it.

I’m sorry to say, I was thoroughly disappointed.

The first two chapters were fine, in their way. They quickly and clearly set up the plot. In summary, Link is brought to the Great Deku Tree as an infant, and his mother dies at its roots. He is brought up among the Deku Tree’s children, the Kokori, and is shunned due to his lack of a fairy, which, according to Mido, is “Just another part of [a kokori]. Like [their] hands and feet!”

Soon, though, Link does receive a fairy- Navi is sent to call him to his destiny. Link, followed by a jealous Mido, goes to the great Deku Tree, who is being eaten away by Gohma.

Thus the story begins. From here, the story bolts from a decent, if slightly brisk pace to a full-on sprint, as though the authors were trying to fit as much into the near 200 pages as they possibly could. Volume one spans every level from Gohma to the end of the fire temple, plus a modified encounter with Shadow Link and several extra plot additives, including an unsuspecting play-date with Princess Zelda. While the extras were entertaining, they were rushed and not fully fleshed out. For example, during Link’s fight with Volvagia in the Fire Temple, there is a flashback that depicts a scene where a young Link spent every rupee he had to purchase a baby dragon in Hyrule market, claiming that he was “rescuing it”. Their relationship is rocky, with our hero being burnt and bit at every turn, but they quickly become friends. As it turned out, Volvagia was that same baby dragon, who had been cursed by Ganon, and no longer remembered Link. Sheik informs Link that the only way to break the spell is to kill Volvagia, which our hero first refuses, but is then forced to do.

Now, while the idea is a good one, the execution of it was poorly done. The whole scene, from the dragon’s purchase to their friendship spans all of three pages. Including the battle, everything is squashed to a mere fifteen. The rest of the book runs at this break-neck speed, stretching each scene from five to seven pages on average. Parts that could have been emotionally moving were so hurried they failed to leave any impact at all.

It might be interesting to note that while the book does span several levels, the chapters only deal directly with battling the bosses. Parts of the game, such as puzzle solving and making one’s way through the temples are cut. It is understandable, though, as a description of every little puzzle would grow tedious. However, this also cuts out some interesting mini-bosses, or, in the case of the Fire Temple, the imprisonment of all the Gorons, which is only mentioned in passing, and only as a direct reference to Darunia.

The plot, however, is the only thing working against it. The art itself is beautifully rendered, staying rather close to the concept art of the original game. No detail is spared, and the page layout is rendered in an aesthetic and easy-to-read style.

The characters receive the same rushed treatment as the plot, but not to such an extent. Several secondary characters, such as Mido and Ruto, are reinvented to contain more depth than their video game counter-parts. Ruto, who is swallowed by Lord Jabu-Jabu, is actually in hiding from an arranged marriage, a personal statement against her treatment as more her father’s doll than a person. More central characters, though, such as Impa and even Zelda herself do not receive this same “fleshing out”.

As a manga, it’s probably only enjoyable for die-hard fans of the game. The average reader, having no background in the series, will likely find themselves lost among the plot and numerous characters.

*~IN MEMORIUM~*

Hiccup- Born July 24, 2008-Died September 17, 2008, at exactly seven weeks old.

Hiccup was the sole survivor of a litter of two, born to Rurouni, my own cat. Within her first days she was crying (Loudly, waking me at ungodly hours as she lived her early weeks beneath my bed.) and crawling around. She went through many names, including Toulouse and Gurgi, before we settled-originally as a joke, upon Hiccup, due to her habit of breaking into her namesake. She grew quickly, and, as the sole kitten, was given massive amounts of attention by all members of our family- including my mother, who as a rule never attaches herself to cats due to a superstition that they will meet an untimely death. Despite her active and energetic personality, she was easily subdued and enjoyed resting calmly on the laps and shoulders of the members of our household.

Unfortunately, the attention we gave to her sapped away from the attention we paid to the other animals. Rurouni herself did not seem to mind- She could leech off of her child’s attention, as she watched over her like a hawk. (Rurouni has given birth to several litters- of maybe five to seven litter, approximately four kittens survived past the first night, as the kittens are, unfortunately, likely inbred.) But our dog, Merlyn, did not like the situation. He is a generally aggressive dog, and once killed another kitten (Bedbug) over a watermelon rind someone had dropped on the floor.

On September 15, late at night, just as we were heading to bed, Merlyn attacked Hiccup. No one actually saw it happen, But we heard it, and Hiccup was found lying on the floor, bleeding from one ear. We called a veterinarian, who took an hour before they arrived at their office (To be fair, it was rather late at night.) Hiccup was not moving, and while her spine was intact, we believed she suffered brain damage. She was given two shots of steroids, before we were sent home at 1:00 that morning. Hiccup remained in a comatose state for the next day, finally passing away early in the morning September 19.

Only two pictures exist of Hiccup.

<img src="http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y289/dekujama/HiccupYoung.jpg" border="0" alt="Young Hiccup">

This is Hiccup at about four weeks.