On 2009 and thoughts for 2010

I usually take a bit of a look at the last twelve months on this blog from its inconception in 2006 looking at the things that came up, and sometimes the things that came down.

I continued to explore things around being an adult little boy, looked back at aspects of my feminine schoolboy past and how that ties to other interests such as music, reading and the arts.

For instance music lovers have been treated to some great limited edition re-issues from MoFi and Audio Fidelity taking in artists such as The Cars, The Band, Rod Stewart and Joe Walsh etc.

On the other hand the AF issue of the Pretenders first album was a mess and that was even admitted by the Mastering Engineer responsible!!!

Apple/Capitol-EMI came up trumps in September with their stereo AND mono re-mastered Beatles albums exceeding all expectations for sound quality and packaging. Full review in September's 2009 entries here.

Also EMI made a great start on the Duran Duran deluxe re-masters starting with Rio  and are scheduled to issue S/T and Seven and the Ragged Tiger on March 15 restoring never before available on cd material to the catalogue even adding valuable DVD's too.

Some great anime sets were issued last year such as Moon Phase.

We were cordially invited to indulge at the Ouran High School Host Club where all 26 episodes were issued in two sets at a discounted price in a move that helped to keep piracy under control.

Crunchyroll having gotten legit on the internet streaming side got better with exciting titles like K-On! and Skip Beat and expanded the Asian Drama collection. They even made a start on J-Rock! Princess Nisa kept us entertained at the 'Weird Person" CR group too.

Amazon helped too with getting a DVD player that could be made to play 'all regions' and it was easy to order stuff from the States where the local distributor here hadn't  a license plus NEO never had a less than essential issue with loads of well written features on anime/manga and J Life.

UK television became multichannel as default as more areas include mine went digital only but the amount of anime shown dropped . We even lost the Anime Network on satellite so we are dependent on online streaming that brings issues of regional licensing/lock outs very much to the fore.

I found a lot of real friends who were around where a group of people tried to shut me down earlier in the year.

I explored more around more feminine presentation to make up for the time lost during childhood when that wasn't so possible given conventions and attitudes then, finding what worked and what did not.

They didn't count on my strength with YOUR support to come back stronger than ever with this blog radically improved or stop me posting on site either!

And finally we've made a new decade, the 2010's so enjoy.

Regards, Tammy.

Christmas 2009

So it happens to be Christmas, for this little my favourite time of year outside of summer hols so what do we have?

Well, I'm LSG which I'm sure you may of noticed if you read this blog which basically means it's a similar christmas to when I was officially a child but being neither a girl or boy exclusively by gender so first off I have the Beano annual just like I had back then.

While it's changed a little to take in what boys and girls now are looking for and what given Dennis the Menace has a tv series tv can accept, it's still recognizable and a barrel of fun with quizzes and activities apart from the cartoons.

The Dandy seemed for a period unsure of where it really was but of late has gone back to a more traditional take on itself and the annual takes in old favourites like Desperate Dan and Korky the cat and adds newer things such as Bananaman.

I went out for lunch with my mummy and daddy so we could just spend time together and not in the kitchen.

I had some money to put toward some cds and dvds  and new pair of gloves.

Mud - Lonely This Christmas (Official Video)

This is a favourite of mine from the mid 1970's when we used to gather around the tv looking at what would be the seasonal hit of the year. Merry Christmas everyone.

Princess Nine

Well Crunchyroll people did you seriously think I'd stopped buying and for that matter viewing anime off site?

For one thing spotting a NEO article that referenced the 1998 girls baseball anime Princess Nine I managed to track down the complete R1 DVD out of print  series for about $15!

Ryo Haykawa from the baseball anime Princess Nine

The days of yore

The past may seem a way off, for present generations almost another country for the customs and way of life for present generations and yet for all that when I go back in time it seems just like yesterday.

A life where we spent most of our time out of doors and although it is fanciful to say "but you didn't have the online games to play we had" we did have the tv and music but we were strongly encouraged to leave that behind.

Thus it wasn't so surprising that summers were spent around the roses or in parks. 

The one negative of that era for me was the heavy handed gender expression policing that went on with boys who were like me being deliberately humiliated and insulted by other males not least teachers for the slightest breach of the then "real men and boys code" being called a "jessie" or a "big girls blouse" conflicting gender identity, sexuality with just being feminine but otherwise a "straight" male.

It said more about their failures and hang ups

Boys like me could and did do rough and tough play as did girls but while they might be teased a little called a "Tom Boy" it was tolerated more in them.

All we wanted was to wear a dress and skirt, playing and  following whatever interested us.

The days of yore

The past may seem a way off, for present generations almost another country for the customs and way of life for present generations and yet for all that when I go back in time it seems just like yesterday.

A life where we spent most of our time out of doors and although it is fanciful to say "but you didn't have the online games to play we had" we did have the tv and music but we were strongly encouraged to leave that behind.

Thus it wasn't so surprising that summers were spent around the roses or in parks. 

The one negative of that era for me was the heavy handed gender expression policing that went on with boys who were like me being deliberately humiliated and insulted by other males not least teachers for the slightest breach of the then "real men and boys code" being called a "jessie" or a "big girls blouse" conflicting gender identity, sexuality with just being feminine but otherwise a "straight" male.

It said more about their failures and hang ups

Boys like me could and did do rough and tough play as did girls but while they might be teased a little called a "Tom Boy" it was tolerated more in them.

All we wanted was to wear a dress and skirt, playing and  following whatever interested us.

Today I call myself a little sissy gurl or a feminine boy cos while I don't feel a boy, you can't remove all your male sex stuff at birth no matter what.

Hitch-Hikers Guide To The Galaxy (DVD)

Now this sure brings back memories at back in the Winter of 1981 this tv adaptation of the Douglas Adams novels that had become an acclaimed radio series was put out by the BBC.
Back the we only had three tv channels!!!!
It was at the cutting edge the of robotics with Zaphod Beeblebrox's heads.
To summarize Arthur Dent (an ape-descendant whose anger at the apparently inexplicable destruction of his home planet Earth, situated in an obscure corner of the outer spiral arm of the galaxy, is expressed in frequent irritation at friendly automatic doors and vending machines) is joined by travelling companions, Ford Prefect (an itinerant towel-carrying hitch-hiker originally from a small planet somewhere in the vicinity of Betelgeuse), Zaphod Beeblebrox (the notorious ex-Galactic President and patron of Eccentrica Galumbits, the triple-breasted whore of Eroticon Six) and Marvin the Paranoid Android (who's still suffering from that terrible pain in all the diodes down his left side).
While some aspects may not work quite as well as the radio series it has a certain charm about it and the comparatively low budget effects help to keep your attention on the story allowing some classic one liners to hit you.

This is the 2002 BBC DVD PAL R2/4 box set with a extras disc.

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle

I bought this 6 dvd set that includes all twenty-six episodes of the first season the `Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle' anime a while back but - as ever - have only just gotten around to opening it!

The series follows Sakura and Syaoran as they search for Sakura's memories which have been scattered across numerous parallel worlds in the form of feathers. Joining them on their journey are the warrior Kurogane, the mage Fai, or Fye, together with magical ball of fluff Mokona.

Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle's is highly enjoyable anime series that has some nice characters and an interesting plot. Regarding the English dub it is relatively good and the soundtrack is beautiful. The series does have a brief crossover with `xxxHolic', which was nice, and it is just a sad that the `xxxHolic' anime didn't follow suit.

Clamp fans will recognize Syaoran and Sakura from Cardcaptors (Disc three has the story of their childhood past) and indeed some might suggest this is a more shonen take on that story but whilst there is some truth in it this goes deeper into the characters.

Highly recommended

Here's a nice picture with Fai, Kurogane, Syaroan and Sakura from this CLAMP series