wednesday_10_00 | State of the Mess: day 7

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State of the Mess: day 7

I managed to get the living room straightened up last night, so today I'll take a break and then get to work on the mess in my bedroom tomorrow. This week has been really long and tiring, ugh. (OK, the living room still has a pile of boxes--because I'll need some of them for packing up books--and my sorted VHS tapes, but it's all out of the way and organized, and it's not like I burned a hole in the carpet or something, so I'm sure my parents won't mind.)

I brought some (shounen and shoujo) manga to work to put on the "free books" shelf that we have out in the hall. When I was sorting through my (BL) magazines, I found two duplicates (why??), so I brought those into work to throw into the recycling with a bunch of other papers. Some really thoughtful recycling worker pulled them out and put them on the free shelf yesterday, so this morning I noticed and threw them back in the recycling. Jeez, everybody I work with knows those books are mine, let's not mix the porn in, OK?

Now at least I know it's NOT safe to bring to work the BL manga I'm planning on getting rid of. I wish our recycling center in town would take paper, but they only accept newspaper and phone books, so I have to find someplace else to dump my books. Recycling porn is complicated.

A few years ago, I wrote this post about cats that reminded me of an old Bronze poster. I found that poster last night:

sorry for interrupting, I'll see myself out...

...and now that I've preserved that for posterity, I've thrown out the poster. Because I really, really do not like that series. I wish I could go back in time and tell my 20-year-old self to not bother with it, because those characters will NEVER be happy; in fact they'll just get more depressing and angsty as time goes on.

Speaking of stuff I read when I was 20, I found my original editions of Fake in a box, so they're now sitting on my floor while I decide whether to keep them or not. I'm getting rid of other duplicate manga editions, but with these I feel a special sort of nostalgia, like with my Fushigi Yuugi fansubs. It took me a whole summer to find these books, how can I throw them in the trash??

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Eeeeeee! The Zetsuaians! If I ever get around to writing my video conversion nostalgia post (current odds: 68%), they WILL be mentioned. Zetsuai 1989 and Bronze and Cathexis have been converted.

Recycling porn is complicated.

Tell me about it. When I did the big, vaguely regretted BL purge ~~two~~ four years ago, it took me weeks to recycle all the manga because I was only willing to put 4-5 BL books in the bottom a bigger box of romance novel or shoujo manga recycling. There's an embarrassment hierarchy going on there, 'cause I can only assume that if I didn't ~~read~~ own BL, I would have found the romance too embarrassing to recycle in bulk.

Now, with the videos, I'm planning to sabotage the BL tapes so they can't easily be replayed. (Nothing major, just cutting the tape, but someone would have to be really curious about it to go to the trouble of splicing it back together.)

I found my original editions of Fake in a box

I do not understand this statement. Did Libre re-release Fake? You bought Fake twice? Is there a better version of Fake out there that I regret not owning when I haven't even looked at Fake in 8 years? (Oh, guess what I discovered in my tape inventory? I don't own Fake on DVD. How did that happen? I thought I bought every BL DVD that had been subtitled. I have unopened copies of the Legend of Blue Wolves and Level-C on my shelf, but I don't own Fake??)

I am 3 HanaDan tapes away from creating my first empty shelf. I don't think I have the vocabulary to express the joy that empty shelf is giving me. All I want to do is stay home from work and convert video for a month.

Edited because time flies.

Edited 2013-10-11 13:44 (UTC)

There's an embarrassment hierarchy going on there, 'cause I can only assume that if I didn't read own BL, I would have found the romance too embarrassing to recycle in bulk.

This is funny because it's true. I no longer find romance novels embarrassing (OK, unless they have really bodice-rippery covers) because of BL.

Did Libre re-release Fake?

It wasn't Libre, it was someone else...*checks* "Mediation"? (I don't understand katakana...) Under the "hug bunko" imprint. This (http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4870317796) is the first volume, but they all appear to be out of print. I don't know if it's "better," but it does have a new story (which the publisher cleverly spread out between volumes so fans would have to buy all of them). I'm sure you could find it used if you feel like you need to own it.

Hurray for your almost-empty shelf! I'm jealous, especially since I haven't done any converting this week.

On the other hand, I think I'm going to end up getting rid of a lot of my fansubs without converting them. I guess I hung on to a lot of stuff I don't care about that much (or if I did care, I got on DVD already). My one problem is my old dubbed Sailor Moon tapes recorded from TV. These are in EP, so if I rip the whole thing into one file, it will be massive, but I don't know if I care enough to rip each episode into its own file. But I don't want to get rid of the tapes without ripping them, because I'm certainly never going to buy the Sailor Moon dub on DVD, but I want to keep it in case I want to watch it again someday in 20 years or so out of some random nostalgic urge.

ETA: forgot to say, please do post your video conversion nostalgia thoughts. (Amusingly, one of the tapes I set in the "to think about" pile was Cathexis. [I didn't find Zetsuai, strangely. Or maybe it's on the same tape and just not labeled?]

I don't own Fake on DVD.

I think I have the same problem, though I did find it on VHS. Like, the commercial version, not the fansub. (I think I grabbed it when the anime shop in East Lansing was going out of business and selling off their old rental tapes, because I hardly bought any anime on VHS.) And now that I've realized this, of course, I want it, even though I haven't thought about the OAV in forever. Oh look, it's still available! (http://www.rightstuf.com/1-800-338-6827/catalogmgr/-=5zuEBZqtiQXScmpQ/browse/item/42106/4/0/0)

Edited 2013-10-11 14:24 (UTC)

Yeah, I've had Fake in my shopping cart ever since I made this discovery, but I don't want to pay $18 for it. I feel like I should be able to get it for $10. At the very least, I will try to hold out for a Media Blasters sale, since I need both Fake and the FY DVDs (which I could have sworn were $29.99 the last time I looked, and now they're $37.49).

I think I'm going to end up getting rid of a lot of my fansubs without converting them.

Lucky! About the only thing I have deemed not worthy of converting are my old Lois and Clark tapes and incomplete fansub series. Right now I'm looking at a stack of 8-9 tapes that are duplicates of the BL stuff I've already converted, and I'm afraid I'm going to have to convert those as well, to compare quality. Anyway, as soon as I finish HanaDan, I am moving on to the various Japanese drama series I taped off of...whatever that public broadcasting station that used to run them on Sunday nights was. I miss it. Even though Korean drama is the new Japanese drama. And Hulu is the new TV.

I am moving on to the various Japanese drama series I taped off of...whatever that public broadcasting station that used to run them on Sunday nights was.

Oh, man, that makes me jealous. None of the public tv stations around here are that cool. I bet that's the same public tv station out of San Jose that used to air eps of Robotech late at night when I was in grad school. Memories!

Actually, when I saw the cover of the Fake DVD, it made me think I have it after all. I need to check when I get home. (Also, I need invest in DVDpedia so I can keep track of my DVDs like I do my manga, but that's another issue.)

Lois and Clark tapes

Awww. *checks Amazon* Is it worth $100 for me to own this series? Probably not.

Have you tried watching any dramas on Crunchyroll? Or do they not have anything good? My membership covers dramas, but I can't even keep up with anime, so obviously I don't ever watch them.

I have that same feeling when I look at the cover, but I think it must just be that I've looked at the cover a lot. At least, neither Amazon nor TRSI are telling me I ordered it through them, and it's hard for me to believe I would have picked it up anywhere else.

Is it worth $100 for me to own this series? Probably not.

I had the same conversation with myself a week ago, when Amazon was offering a bundle of all 9 seasons of The X-Files for $90.

Have you tried watching any dramas on Crunchyroll? Or do they not have anything good?

A while back, I looked to see if Crunchyroll streamed anything from the golden olden days of Japanese drama (ca. 1997), but they don't. Hulu already offers the Korean dramas I'm interested in...except I have a hard time watching the Korean romantic comedies/soaps/whatever straight through. I get impatient about 5 episodes in.

(edited 100 years later to correct spelling and caps)

Edited 2013-10-12 05:23 (UTC)

I have that same feeling when I look at the cover, but I think it must just be that I've looked at the cover a lot.

Might be true for you, but I do actually own it. Phew, $18 saved. (OK, I probably paid more than $18 when I got it, but I prefer not to think about that.)

Is it worth $100 for me to own this series?

Wow, it costs that much now? I bought it on sale a couple years ago for something obscenely cheap. $5-$10 per season I think (I bought a bunch of other stuff at the same time, so I'm not sure which price went with which series).

You may want to keep an eye on it around the holidays, if you're still interested.

Thanks for the tip, I may do that! Season 1 is only $10 right now, but the others are around $30ish. Which is really pretty cheap, honestly...I just don't know how much I would ever watch that show.

I thought I should chime in on all this organizing to mention that Jenn has been doing the same thing. She turned over two boxes of anime videos and merchandise to me that she doesn't want to keep anymore. I'll keep them for a while in case anyone wants to visit and look through them for things worth saving.

I don't suppose that includes the YYH compilation tapes we made? I found the Hiei and Kurama version a few years ago, but not the other one.

I don't suppose that includes the YYH compilation tapes we made?

I don't know about those, I honestly haven't looked through the boxes yet. I'm sure I still have my copy, though, and I'm probably going to start digitizing things after I get a new computer.

I'm glad you still have your copy! I was really sad when I couldn't find mine. (I guess it could be in another box somewhere, but it certainly isn't with any other tapes I've gone through.)

after I get a new computer

Is your old computer not fixable, or do you just think you'll be getting a new one at some point in the future regardless?

Is your old computer not fixable, or do you just think you'll be getting a new one at some point in the future regardless?

I ordered a new one just in case the old one is totally dead. I got one that will allow me to add a video capture card, because I think the amount of capturing I intend to do is just too massive for a crude external device to handle. (I already have the card, which I thought I could use with the old computer, but it turned out not to have enough room inside the case.)

I'm going to have to postpone paying my property tax bill to scrounge the money for it, but luckily they don't charge any late fees until after December 10. I'm counting on being paid before then.

Jeez, I certainly hope you'll get paid before December! Anyway, sounds like the upgrade is maybe for the best--it'll be nice to use the capture card.

Congratulations on that almost-empty shelf! I am at my wits' end as to where I am going to put any new manga in December/January, without having to move something I now have to the basement or attic (which I have avoided for preservation reasons - I am not 100% sure that my manga will be safe from heat, insect or dampness damage there).

I am curious - do you regret anything specific that you got rid of in the big purge, or are you just haunted by the vague feeling that you MIGHT have got rid of something important? (I can certainly understand the latter... I have experienced the former a time or two, as well.)

do you regret anything specific that you got rid of in the big purge, or are you just haunted by the vague feeling that you MIGHT have got rid of something important?

That is an excellent question. There's a box in the living room right now that holds volumes of translated shoujo series I never completed (Wild Ones, Black Bird, the manhwa Angel Diary). I'm having a hard time taking the final step of getting rid of them, and I keep telling myself that once they are gone, there will be no regrets because I will not remember ever having owned them. It's only their presence that makes it difficult to let go.

No, I don't regret any specific volume of manga I purged back in '09. I just regret the size of the purge and the timing, since I was re-obsessed just two years later.

Just think of it as having cleared more room for you to acquire the objects of the renewed obsession!

Hee! I am loving these posts.

I'm really glad I was warned away from Bronze in time. I feel the same way about Ai no Kusabi and Mirage of Blaze. Just think of all the angst I was saved!

You know, I don't think I ever finished buying Fake in Japanese. I have it all in English, and I bought vol 7 in Japanese (I think that was back when the English translation was still incomplete), but I'm pretty sure I never went back and bought the others. And now I feel insufficiently motivated to fill the gap. Ah, Fake. (I also own the VHS tape, which I think I've never replaced with the DVD.)

I'm really glad I was warned away from Bronze in time. I feel the same way about Ai no Kusabi and Mirage of Blaze. Just think of all the angst I was saved!

Ha, I'm the opposite of you, I guess, because I was warned away from Ai no Kusabi and Mirage of Blaze. (I even owned the Mirage of Blaze DVDs, but I never got around to watching them, and then what I heard of the series later made me just get rid of them, unwatched.)

That was poorly worded - I was actually warned off of all three in time. :-) For which I am grateful, because from what I gather, any of the three of them probably would have activated and then totally failed to satisfy my mean/repentant seme moe. I would have been forever looking for a resolution I never got.

That makes sense now that I look at it again. I don't know why I read it the other way the first time.

Speaking of repentant semes, I got Utsukushii Koto in my last order, so now I just have to convince myself to read it. I thought about starting it last weekend, but what if I love it and need the special booklet sequel immediately? I'm thinking I should save it until early December-ish.

(How mean do your semes need to be? I'm reading this (http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4403521819)--well, actually, the sequel (http://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4403522661)--right now and I'm thinking you might like it. Only you probably have too much to read already. Never mind, forget I said anything.)

Edited 2013-10-11 17:58 (UTC)

Hee! If it's complete at volume 2, I'll add it to the potential shopping list. I have to have something new to buy! (I think an awful lot of the list is going to consist of catching up on things that I should have been buying all along in the last two years, continuations of series and such.)

I believe it's complete, yes. I had been hoping maybe it could be a good book for the plane ride to Japan, but it was too tempting, I guess. Now I'll have to get something else for the plane.

I feel so broken right now. Not re: Mirage of Blaze, which I can't make heads or tails of (but still own); however, I gazed upon ZetsuBronze with affectionate nostalgia while converting, and the DVD release of Ai no Kusabi is in my TRSI shopping cart waiting for a Media Blasters sale (or a great Black Friday deal). They're just so integral to my indoctrination into BL. I wonder how I would respond if I encountered them for the first time today.

On the other hand, I've always hated Song of Wind and Trees for the trauma and angst, so...there ya go.

I can't say anything about Ai no Kusabi, which I've never seen, but my feelings of bitterness re: Zetsuai/Bronze come from the manga, and even then I thought about buying the new volume that came out a couple of years ago. I haven't watched the anime since I first got my hands on the fansub, and don't remember it well enough to say whether I would feel bitterly about that also, or whether nostalgia would make me look back on it with fondness.

(I have recently seen one of the music videos, because that's on a compilation tape I ripped when I first got my converter; it mostly made me roll my eyes and laugh at myself, so...make of that what you will.)

They're just so integral to my indoctrination into BL.

I don't think I've ever even watched the anime of Ai no Kusabi or Bronze (maybe I should, out of curiosity?), but I can understand looking on the vehicle of one's indoctrination fondly. I was just re-reading the Level C manga in English - not that I couldn't read it in Japanese, but English is faster - oh, so bad, but I could never get rid of my Japanese Level C volumes. It was the first thing I ever bought!

maybe I should, out of curiosity?

No. Never do this. At least, not Ai no Kusabi. The only redeeming quality it has is Koyasu Takehito's voice, if I recall correctly.

And the animation, I think? Or maybe it was just the character designs.

I need to purge DVDs. I'll have to check and see if I have that.

Ah! So jealous that you have found the motivation to do this. And you're making incredible progress! I dragged my comic books out of my closet MONTHS ago and they're still sitting at the foot of my bed. Maybe I can start this weekend. Mostly the stuff in my closet is old, old, old stuff (would anyone like to buy a Barbie Corvette?) and romance novels. (And I have, like, 20 Gundam Wing gen doujinshi anthologies. What the hell do you do with books like that?)

Ages ago, when I got into DVDs, I gave my old anime club all of my fansubs and licensed tapes. The only VHS fansubs I have left are the Sailor Moon Sailor Stars ones from VKLL that came in hard cases with nice color printouts of the laser disc covers. (Oh man. I remember skipping a really stupid school assembly in order to get an international money order from the post office to buy those. MEMORIES~~~~) I now have digital versions of them, so I'm ready to give them up.

I should weed through my CDs, too. Half of those I haven't listened to in a decade. And I really need to throw out those metal shelves, anyway. (Oh, I hope I'm still thinking like this when I wake up tomorrow.)

Maybe you can give the old Fake books away to a good home?

My motivation is that if I don't do this before December, I won't have any place to put my two suitcases full of manga. It's a pretty compelling reason, for me.

What the hell do you do with books like that?

I honestly don't know what to do with 90% of this anymore, other than put it in the recycling. It's sad, but I've made my peace with it.

I should weed through my CDs, too.

I've planned for a long time to rip a lot of my CDs to my computer and get rid of the physical copies, but never did because I didn't have the hard drive space. Now that I do, maybe that should be my next organizational project.

Maybe you can give the old Fake books away to a good home?

I decided to keep Fake, at least for now. And also my bunko version of Koori. Because reasons. (Actually, putting the bunko version of Koori on my shelf and the originals in my closet saves me some shelf space. Why didn't I think of that before?)

I've planned for a long time to rip a lot of my CDs to my computer and get rid of the physical copies

I wish I could share your faith that digital media can't/won't be lost. I've only made my peace with getting rid of tape because it's constantly degrading (and I hold my breath while I rewind a tape in my machines, fearing it will be shredded before the converting is complete).

my bunko version of Koori.

My eternal question: did the bunko version contain any bonus material? I'm assuming not, or you wouldn't have considered getting rid of it.

Well, I won't be getting rid of all my CDs. I would be most inclined to get rid of American music that's easily replaced via iTunes, or old bootleg anime CDs, which I don't feel I really own anyway.

Still, I feel pretty secure in having stuff on my computer + backed up on an external drive. Something could happen to it, yes, but something could happen to the original CD, too. (I remember having to download the ending song to Orphen a few years ago because the CD was scratched up and I had never ripped it to my computer.)

I'm assuming not, or you wouldn't have considered getting rid of it.

Exactly right. In fact, the bunko version doesn't include any of the author's notes from the original editions, so if a person didn't own the series and was looking to buy it, I would recommend they go out of their way to track down used copies of the originals. I only got the bunko version because I was living in Japan and sad to be separated from the series.

I honestly don't know what to do with 90% of this anymore, other than put it in the recycling. It's sad, but I've made my peace with it.

But-but-but...Heero reindeer. *sadface* Maybe the university library will take them.

rip a lot of my CDs to my computer and get rid of the physical copies

I prefer having the CDs (not enough companies sell lossless music files), but that Man...Or Astroman? disc that I bought on a whim and didn't even realize I still had? Yeah, you're a prime candidate for sellin'.

Because reasons.

Seems legit.

But-but-but...Heero reindeer. *sadface*

Well, if it makes me sad to think about, I don't get rid of it.

Maybe the university library will take them.

The idea of the MSU library having a catalog of Gundam Wing doujinshi just makes me laugh and laugh.

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State of the Mess: day 7

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