Old blog archive: 29 March 2002

As my best friend Jenn would put it, I am a very happy camper.

Last week, I won an auction for the D&D PoDW role-playing module, and it came in yesterday, and I picked it up today. It’s got a book and over 100 pages of new character descriptions…I’m seriously floored. This is as cool as the cels were, except that this is a lot more informative. And what I totally didn’t realize is that the guy I won these from is the one who wrote the book. I should’ve recognized his name from his e-mails, and because this set’s up at Amazon and his name’s there, but it didn’t click till I looked at the front page and saw his name there and did a double-take.

It’s a gorgeous day out; I just spent about an hour at the Campanile (those of you unfamiliar with Georgia Tech’s campus, it’s also known as the Shaft; it’s an outdoor amphitheater right in front of our student center, with a tall “shaft-like” statue in the middle; they put it up right before the 1996 Olympics–and it’s a popular hang-out-and-relax place on nice days, like today) reading through it and wondering if people would walk by and go, “Wait, is that Pirates of Dark Water?” Dang, oh well. ;o) But there’s so much information in this…background stories, character descriptions, descriptions of the islands, a BIG, FULL-COLOR WORLD MAP *dies*, and…wow. :o) I wish I had a scanner…there are lots of awesome sketches of the characters in the 100 pages of species descriptions, and lots of really cool pictures of cities and landscapes (I’m wondering if Floro Dery drew those…? They reminded me of the concept line art he e-mailed me of the interior of the Maelstrom and Janda-town) and…wow.

I did notice some discrepancies between some of the descriptions/names printed here and the series, though…nothing extremely major, but I kind of blinked and went, “Wait a second..” when I saw them, so. :o) I’m attributing them to the author taking creative liberties, though. *grin* I’m wondering if he got permission from Hanna-Barbera to take these liberties, or if he’s basing these off their guidelines, or…?

Old blog archive: 17 March 2002

*eyes go wide* Cool!!

I wonder if this was how the series was going to end? I really, really need to track down a ROM of this… *resolves to ask her best friend about ROMs and emulators, as she’s the one who’s really into gaming, of the console and PC varieties* She had one, briefly, and I played a bit of it…like, the first level. I figured it was just a beat-’em-up type of game and kind of discarded it…but the Sega game’s sort of the same too. :o/ The graphics on both of them are fairly nice, truthfully–but the Sega game’s got a totally different plot. There are only 6 Treasures, all of which you find, and then they put the Dark Dweller back into the center of Mer, in the force field the Treasures generate. But with this…

I’ve so gotta e-mail the guy who got these screen shots and ask him all about it. :o) I’m intrigued now! I never even considered an ending that is almost a new beginning…I mean, I knew some RPers had thought of it, and I just went, “Oh, hmm, interesting…” but never considered those in terms of the series itself. That would be excruciatingly awesome if it did happen, though. *grin*

Old blog archive: 17 March 2002

*grins* I won one of these. WOO!! I’d wanted to bid on this before when I saw it, but it just got too expensive–I’d definitely say this was a great deal on the RPG stuff.

And I finally showed my parents the animation art I bought, the 4 cels and 6 drawings, and they were actually impressed in an approving way. That’s definitely good. Dad jokingly asked me why I spent $30 on that crap, and Mom reminded him, “She’s earning…” That’s a relief–I don’t really have to worry about “going behind their backs” to buy this stuff now. :o) Not that I ever bought them without their permission–I just figured I’d get the whole Disapproving Shpiel� if they knew. *shrugs* Oh well, not anymore, I guess. :o) I also watched most of episodes 1-4 of Dark Water today…I really would love a copy of The Saga Begins. I guess that’s the next thing on my list to buy…

Old blog archive: 08 March 2002

And I don’t know if I ever mentioned this, but I have a bunch of PoDW valentines scanned and up on my site–well, Sare, the girl who sent me the scans mailed me a set of the actual valentines (minus the Teacher Card) the week of Valentines Day. *grins* They’re SO COOL! I’ll rescan them as soon as I get scanner access (and as soon as I find them…they’re buried in the crap on my desk back at school somewhere -_-; ) so they’ll be a bit clearer.

I haven’t gotten any redesign work done…I’ve been too busy, actually, with going around the city and hanging out with friends and family and stuff. But it’s been great fun. :o) Maybe after my Women, Literature, and Culture midterm Monday and my Japanese exam Wednesday, I’ll get back into it…I feel really bad for neglecting it all like this. :o/ But I’m also wondering about moving my entire site again…like, not just the Dark Water site, but my entire domain, ecomancer.net. I’ve seen a lot of better hosting deals for cheaper elsewhere, but they just automatically billed me on March 1st for hosting for this month…we’ll see, though.

Old blog archive: 08 March 2002

*grins broadly*

I’m in New York this week, visiting my cousin and her husband for spring break…well, New Jersey, technically, but they’re right on the Hudson River and they’ve got a gorgeous view of the Manhattan skyline from here. :o) And I’m such a dork! Here’s the 2 reasons why so far:

1. We were watching The Empire Strikes Back earlier this week (my cousin’s husband is a big Star Wars fan, heee! We watched ROTJ last night too, actually), and in the scene when Yoda’s training Luke, and Luke asks Yoda how he’ll know the good side from the bad, when Yoda replies with, “You will know,” it immediately reminded me of King Primus telling Ren in the secret room under the lighthouse, “You will know when the time comes, my son. But if you succeed, the seven Treasures of Rule will never leave this room,” when Ren looked to the Treasures and begged his father for help for what to do next (from The Dark Disciples).

2. Just a few minutes ago, I was watching TV (I really should be studying, I’ve got a midterm Monday -_-; ) and a baseball commercial came on, and the name Alomar flashed across the screen, and my jaw just dropped. I totally forgot that there’s a baseball player with New York named Roberto Alomar! (Alomar being the dragonlike creature who Ren went to at the Abbey of Galdebar in the 1st episode to begin his quest.) But coupled with this, after I did the jaw-drop-huge-grin thing, I jumped up and ran to the computer, because my second thought was, “This is SO going in my PoDW weblog.”

Yes, I’m pathetic indeed. Okay, back to studying now. ;o)

Old blog archive: 17 February 2002

Okay, I take a mild bit of offense to this:

“On the ocean-covered planet of Mer, the once glorious Kingdom of Octopon is under siege by a vile pirate-giant named Bloth and his crew of inhuman marauders. Ren, who has spent his own 17 years in a lighthouse, discovers that he is the son of King Prymus, ruler of Octopon, who journeyed for the 6 treasures of rule, since he had the first 7. Prymus was capture by Bloth but not before telling his companions to hide the first 7 treasures and their compass. When Prymus escapes he manages to reach Ren, but only to be claimed by the sea, forever.

It is now Ren’s destiny to find all Thirteen treasures of rule, with the magic compass. He is not alone however. At his side is the exotic and ingenious Tula , the thief Ioz and Niddler, a monkey-bird who is always hungry for a bit of food.

But the quest for the treasures is not a smooth sea trip. Bloth is on his trail and the unexplored seas and fraught with sea monsters, dangerous ‘dark waters’ and new lands and peoples.

Enjoyable adventure and action, with a lot of wit and jokes. Even after 5 years of having it in my possession, I still find it exciting to watch. It’ll make a good gift for kids, especially boys.”

This was one of the reviews for The Saga Begins at Amazon.com. It’s perfectly fine until the very last line. Especially boys? I’m female and this is my favorite cartoon of all time–and the majority of the people who have e-mailed me about this, or who I’ve run into online regarding this, have been female. What does that say? I hate it when people make generalizations about the science fiction and fantasy genres, pitting them more towards males than females. One awesome thing about this show is the fact that Tula is able to hold her own. She’s an invaluable member of the Quest, and many times they haven’t been able to get anywhere without her help. Girls look up to her–they love the series, and not just because “Ren’s cute.” *rolls eyes* But anyway…

And on going further–if I’m not mistaken–the person who wrote this was a woman. How WEIRD. Though…well…okay, maybe she felt it was pitted more towards guys–but plenty of other female fans don’t feel that way! It’s kind of strange running into those that do, though.

Ehh, anyway… *shakes her head*

Old blog archive: 08 February 2002

*shrieks*

I NOW OWN 10 PIECES OF ORIGINAL PIRATES OF DARK WATER ANIMATION ART!! 4 cels and 6 drawings!!! 2 cels, with drawings, of the Dark Dweller holding the Wraith (from “The Dark Dweller”), 2 cels of Ren’s head (not sure from what episode), 2 drawings of Niddler sitting at Ren’s side as he wakes up (from “Victory”), a drawing of Ren with his head bandaged (from “Break-Up”), a drawing of a monkey-bird cringing or cackling or something (unsure from what episode), a full-body drawing of Ren (from “The Beast and the Bell”), and a drawing of Bloth holding the Compass and snarling menacingly (from “Victory”).

Eeee!! I’m so HAPPY now! :o) As soon as I get scanner access, I’ll scan and post ’em. *beams*

But off to work with me now…