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BPAL Madness!
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About this blog

Primarily Rambling Delirium, Partly Anime, Bpal and Reflections on Random Things

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Swords - Good for Strengthening Stomach Muscles?

So, and this is a truly random topic, but I was reading the manga (graphic novel) Berserk Volume 3 a few days ago. The reason this is relevent is because the main character uses a huge broadsword, and has done a strength training exercise since childhood that involves doing a hundred repetitions of raising the broadsword in both hands above his head and bringing the blade slashing downward (keeping the sword held steady and aimed straight in front of him the whole time) in a controlled arc. He repeats this until he's reached a hundred repetitions of the movement. Being the Middle Ages freak that I am, I own several swords in my collection of medieval time-period related items and I suddenly, inexplicably, decided to try this very strength training exercise in the middle of reading the manga in question.   All of the swords in my collection are of decent or good grade metal but some are better made than others, or worth more, and all are of different styles. I chose a light-weight sword to practice this out with because I hadn't worked out in a while and still wanted to do all of the hundred repetitions.   I tried out this exercise in my upstairs living room (it was 11 pm at night; I am a bit of a night owl, and I couldn't practice out in the yard where there would be more space for safety reasons), so I took care to avoid the ceiling fan in particular amongst the furniture that might prove bothersome. I have practiced sword technique in my living room before so I know what to avoid (by previous trial and error of course! ). I started to ground (balance) my stance, one foot slightly in front of the other, and grasped the grip (basically, the handle/bottom portion of the sword below the blade) of the sword with both of my hands, bringing the blade to point straight north (as linear I could make it, anyway) in front of me. I raised the sword carefully over my head and then swung the blade downward in my best attempt to keep the swing of the blade in a steadily aligned arc of motion and then raised the blade again and repeated. I rested a few seconds after 20 repetitions and then repeated 20 more, and because I like to make things an even number, I did do this atleast hundred times, resting a few minutes every 20 reps or so. I watched Cartoon Network (which is basically comprised of shows like Family Guy around 11pm or 12am 6 out of 7 nights a week) while I did this and this exercise really was a nice change from doing pushups/sit-ups, etc. Afterwords, I could really feel the burn in my stomach area and upper arms, and I've been doing the hundred repetitions every few nights these last few days because the experiment has thus far proved a success, and works the stomach area alot more than I thought it would.   Its a much simpler exercise than practicing a whole routine of blade or staff moves (which is pretty difficult to do since my living room has a lot of furniture to worry about avoiding when moving around with a sword or staff) and its not as annoying as doing sit-ups on a hardwood panelled floor(ouch!). Plus, the act of swinging the sword up and downwards in an arc works the arms as well as the stomach and to a lesser extent the shoulders/back. Comparatively, I have found crunches (which is my most regularly used exercise move) to have much less (if practically any) impact on the arms and to often end up making my neck hurt. I also plan on trying this with my heavier staff (I own two staffs, one of a lighter weight and one that is much heavier and longer) just for a change of pace. I'll still do crunches, but I've found its good to have variety.   So there you have it. I got a workout move from reading a manga. Yet another reason to read graphic novels. And to be eclectic and bored.
 

Dragon Moon Order Assessment

My Dragon Moon Order   Bottles:   Dragon Moon I was hoping for something of a darker, more serpentine feel in notes (not watery in feel as what I would describe as watery tends to have mixed results on me) but I am excited by the prospect of the combination of tea leaf/dragon's blood resin/sandalwood, so I'll just wait and see how this turns out on my dastardly skin chemistry.   Pluto I've been waiting to buy this for a long time. Not only do I have an unusual fondness for this planet in particular, but I'm also excited by the (very) widely ranged reviews on this one. I am a fan of 'metallic' notes, through many reviews on Pluto have also made this out to be semi-aquatic in feel. I have my fingers crossed...   Gypsy Queen I was debating on whether to pick up Gypsy Queen or Snake Charmer and I chose Gypsy Queen. My skin chemistry has not had good results with black plum and coconut so I was iffy on Snake Charmer for this, but then again, many of the reviews for Gypsy Queen describe her as being heavily or primarily 'floral' (which my skin chemistry also has mixed results with) so there were possible cons here as well. But then again, Snake Charmer also had benzoin, arabian musk, and Egyptian amber, all of which I love, so I must admit that the choice to take Gypsy Queen over Snake Charmer into the shopping cart was more difficult than I'd originally anticipated. However, I am an incense fan, so the mention of incense in Gypsy Queen's description (and in the reviews) was ultimately the tipping point on the scale for me.   The Tell-Tale Heart I have a decanted imp of this and love it, despite my initial weariness of the cocoa note in the description (the cocoa barely shows up at all, and what does show up is not a 'foody' cocoa note, if that makes sense). I purchased this with my Dragon Moon order to make sure I didn't forget to do so before the Maelstrom section goes down May 1st (yes, I'm so absent-minded as to actually do that ).   --------   Imps:   Initially, I did plan to include a six-pack of catalogue imps with this order, but found I hadn't quite calculated Gypsy Queen into the scheme of things money-wise, so the poor, little imps just didn't make it into the shopping cart this time around.
 

TAL Wantlist

I finally have a place to keep track of my list of wanted TALs, yay!   Wanted:   Perpetuum Bonuum (in decant form) Master (in decant form) Astral Travel (in decant form) Clarity (in decant form) Determination (in decant form) Fiery Command (in imp form) Power (in imp form) Horus (in imp form) Attuning (in imp form) Servare (in imp form) Lionheart (in imp form) Mnemosyne (in imp form) Enochian (5ml) Fiery Wall of Protection (5ml)   --------   On Order as Decants:   Anthelion Temple: Egyptian White Light Fiery Wall of Protection Lord of the Forest Foundation of Fortune Bastet's Laughter   -------
 

DISCOUNTANIMEDVD.COM

http://www.discountanimedvd.com/   ....Damn, I just made an order from here a few days ago, and now the final dvd of the anime series Melody of Oblivion has just arrived in stock...early! The sixth volume was not supposed to be released until 4/25...*headdesk*   And here I just spent all of my anime budget money (yes, I factor this into my budget monthly ) on discountanimedvd's graphic novel sale...! *Hits head to desk again*
 

Snake Charmer

Oh, crap, the regret hits bad. I can't believe I'm saying this but I will probably make a second order before the end of the Dragon Moon Update even through I promised I wouldn't... Snake Charmer: Arabian Musk. Benzoin. Egyptian Amber. Coconut and Plum be damned, I do think I must have a bottle.   I will be extremely broke for so long.
 

discountanimedvd.com order

My discountanimedvd order arrived in the mail Friday....   Berserk Vol 5 (manga) Angel Sanctuary Vol. 4 (manga) Howl's Moving Castle (anime movie on dvd)   Howl's Moving Castle is a lovely movie...but the book was still better, as there was more depth to the characters actions/backgrounds. I watched it on Friday night. The animation is overall excellent, the script is well written and the characters are brilliant (especially Sophie). Initially, I was expecting a somewhat watered-down theatrical version of the novel, but the end result was true enough to the book that I felt satisfied by it.   Now, to refrain from ordering from discountanimedvd.com again so soon...
 

BPAL Bottle Inventory

I have many more bottles than I actually use, so I'm going to break down what I do use on a regular basis and what I don't into two seperate inventory lists. This is mostly to remind myself to get off my ass and actually sell/swap/decant from the bottles I don't use sometime soon.   Bottles I Love Or Like (divided into two rows of those I regularly use and love and those I like but use less often):   (Love) Fenris Wolf (10ml) The Cracked Bell Luperci Thanatos   (Like) Buck Moon Sed Non Satiata The Pit and the Pendulum Berenice Bloodlust Fallen Jacob's Ladder Blood Moon Temple of the Horned God (TAL) War (TAL)   -----------   Those I Don't Use (for whatever reason, usually because they don't work on me or aren't to my tastes):   Salamander (TAL) Mars The Masque The Rat King Harvest Moon 2005 (Never even opened! What's wrong with me? I think I originally purchased this solely for swapping purposes) Fruit Moon 2005 Dreamland The Haunted Palace Red Lantern Red Phoenix Khajuraho Chaos Theory CDIV The Scales of Deprivation   ----------   I think that's all of them...(not including those I have on order)
 

Never Been Blogged

I have never blogged before (please refrain from gasping ) so bear with me if my entries seem alittle too random, I'll try and do my best not to ramble too badly.   A random confession: I've never used an Ipod and I don't care for cellphones (althrough I do own one that my father adopted because he spilled a drink on his own cellphone).
 

Utter Randomness

A brief summary of what's to come...hopefully with consistantly updated postings, heh. Odd Stories, Good Anime, Personal Rants, Bpal, Existential Ponderings, you name it and I will probably blather on about it here if I feel so inclined. for first blog posts....
 

Ordering Off Amazon.com Late at Night

....Is not a good idea. I find I tend to buy more items and spend more money if sleep deprived. My latest late-night acquisition was a dvd of Gankutsuou - The Count of Monte Cristo - Chapter 2 (anime), which I purchased at about 3am or so on (I think) Saturday. I can't wait to watch it, but its really the principle of the thing...
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