Zombie_Nosh

So I'm guessing some of you have read the rumours today that Toriyama is restarting the DragonBall story. That's all the information there is at the moment, so who knows what the situation is? What are your thoughts on this? If Toriyama penned a new chapter to the DB saga, would you be excited? What angle might it take? Might it be more adventure oriented like the original DragonBall, or more fighting styled, like DBZ? Will it follow GT, or what? Will it focus on Goku, or maybe Goku's family? Or completely new characters? If he did write a new story, it would surely be picked up for an anime adaptation. Personally I (and perhaps a good deal of other fans) are only familiar with the anime, not the manga. Anyway, I'm not sure how I feel about this news. I wasn't fond of anything that came after the end of the Cell saga. I found the whole thing stale and worn out. I disliked everything about Buu, SSJ3, Fusion, Goten and Trunks, Videl; everything. And GT was of course a farce. However, I know if this does come to pass, loyalty will have me tuning in. Probably out of some sort of morbid curiosity. Thoughts and opinions?

[quote name='Vicky' date='23 October 2010 - 05:26 PM' timestamp='1287851160' post='701263'] Dan Brown is a particular dislike in my world. [/quote] Hear, hear!

[quote name='Anomaly' date='25 October 2010 - 08:27 AM' timestamp='1287991657' post='701288'] [font="Garamond"]AP = Advanced Placement. Slightly higher level courses offered at some high schools. Grade 12 stuff taken via AP or IB (same program almost, International Baccaulaureate) is about par with first year university courses. More of a challenge.[/font] [/quote] Oh, very good. So it seems we have a couple of brainiacs among us? Over here, classes tend to be broken into higher and ordinary groups. But a higher level class isn't on par with college classes; in fact, in most instances the majority are expected to take higher classes anyway, and drop down if the work is too challenging.

[quote name='CaNz' date='23 October 2010 - 04:19 PM' timestamp='1287847168' post='701261'] awww... too bad Z_N... I had been planning on inviting you to the tea drinking party too! [/quote] I still drink copious amounts of tea! In fact, I probably drink more tea now to make up for the dip in coffee. Can somebody clarify what all this AP History/English stuff is?

Damn I love a good cup of coffee. No sugar, maybe a drop of milk. Nothing like it. When I was in work and college, I downed coffee like nobody's business. I have since significantly lowered my intake.

[quote name='CaNz' date='19 October 2010 - 01:06 AM' timestamp='1287446819' post='701139'] if it makes my grandpa happy to believe my soul is safer... i will do it. [/quote] Good man. In situations like this, I always believe that if you go along with something is important to somebody you care about it, what harm is it? Also... my space bar isn't working too great...

[quote name='Pleiades Rising' date='31 August 2010 - 12:08 AM' timestamp='1283209719' post='700039'] I think the next book of Murakami's on my to-read list will be [i]The Wind-up Bird Chronicle.[/i] However, I've always had an interest in reading[i] Kafka by the Shore[/i], since this was the first of his books that I've heard about. When I get around to it, I'll probably read his autobiography, as well. I'd like to get even more into his head, to see what might go into his writings. [/quote] I remember my first encounter with Murakami. Must've been, oh, six or seven years ago now? [b]A Wild Sheep Chase[/b] was in the recently released section. The cover was a plack and white picture of a sheep, with a red star on it. It was so out of the ordinary, I was drawn to it. The style and content were so original that I was hooked. Ever since then I scoured the bookstores for more of his work. The only two of his work I don't have are the first two novel's of the [b]Trilogy of the Rat[/b], which he doesn't want translated to English. Not once have I been disappointed, and have reread each of his books, at least once. Perhaps more than anything else, it was Murakami's influence that turned me on to the works of Franz Kafka and jazz music. I do hope you enjoy reading his works, as you can tell, I can't heap enough praise on him, and highly recommend all his writings. I suppose that's one instance where judging a book by it's cover actually paid off... Anyway, I've just finished reading a few bits and pieces myself. [b]Death and the Penguin[/b] by Ukrainian author Andrey Kurkov. An enjoyable enough story about a newspaper writer who gets wrapped up in a crime war. Also he has a pet penguin. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The danger throughout is more implicit than I had imagined it would be, and the story more so deals with aspects of loneliness and isolation. The characters were endearing and sympathetic, if not a little vague. The penguin was hilarious. [b]The Brief History of the Dead[/b] by Kevin Brockmeier. Interesting enough premise, the story is divided into two parts; a city where people's spirits(?) go to when they die and stay there as long as a living person remembers them, and the story of one woman in the Antarctic. The former is a very interesting idea, but never really delves into the details too much, and as such exposes questions that poke a few too many holes in it. The latter isn't as interesting, and quickly falls into a very repetitious and frankly tedious rhythm. The ending is made obvious from the get-go and as such, nothing hangs in the balance. Finally the pacing is quite disjointed; the odd chapters deal with the city, the even with the Antarctic. To sum up: Intriguing idea, but poorly executed. And last, but certainly not least; [b]Of Love and Other Demons[/b] by Gabriel García Márquez. I could gush over the works of García Márquez in much a similar fashion to the way I did about Murakami. Every word he writes is hauntingly beautiful. Realism and mysticism, with just the right hint of ambiguity are cornerstones of all his work that I am acquainted with. Love and Demons tells the story of a young girl who has been bitten by a dog infected by rabies. In time, she is confined to a local convent, where she is suspected of being possessed by demons. The book is short; little more than 150 pages, and I was so enthralled by it that I read it in one sitting. At the moment, I am reading [b]The Long March[/b] by Sun Shuyun. A reporter travels along the route of the Long March and speaks to survivors along the way. I'm loving this book because it shows a very human side to history that is absent from most history books. Rather than get too bogged down with facts, and with no discernible ulterior agenda, Shuyun recounts her journey and her interviews. Even without a previous knowledge of the Long March, the book is a good read with enough backstory to make it understandable. If you are familiar with the history, this makes a fine companion to other works.

I'm loving this latest instalment, especially after the Luffy-centric previous arc. It's been great to catch up with the gang some more before everything kicks off again. Seems like Oda's been addressing a few gripes; [spoiler]Chopper's seemingly lack of aging and Franky's hair.[/spoiler] I'm a bit irked that Luffy didn't recognise the imposters, as Phenom mentioned; it is a bit silly. Loved the interaction between Zoro and Sanji. Hopefully it's all going to kick off soon; 601 should be good.

I've decided that I'm going to have a look at this [b]Samurai Champloo[/b]. I've pretty high expectations, seeing as it's directed by Shinichirō Watanabe of [b]Bebop[/b] fame. Aside from that, just keeping up with [b]One Piece[/b] and [b]Bleach[/b].

What about the 11th of November next year? 11/11/11 That seems even more impressive.

Maybe Jimbei or Perona will join the crew? That could be interesting. Never even entertained the notion that Camie might join.

[quote name='Sangome' date='13 October 2010 - 07:48 AM' timestamp='1286952500' post='701066'] [center][IMG]http://i54.tinypic.com/2eo9s8k.jpg[/IMG][/center] [color="#9932CC"][font="Microsoft Sans Serif"]This little ditty, as the title screen says, is [i]Samurai Pizza Cats[/i], [/font][/color] [/quote] Sweet Zombie Jesus! I had completely forgotten about this. I was going to say something banal like DBZ or something, but I totally remember watching this now. Brilliant!

I think Crocodile from One Piece is an excellent villain. He's so cool, and so evil. I love him. And his return to the fold has been great. And while we're on the subject of Death Note; would Light be considered a villain? Because if so, he's a great one.