IMHO...

Greetings from Paducah, KY again. It's amazing how one can get used to a 600 mile drive (one way). I probably wouldn't be so tired if I wasn't busy all weekend with my older brother's & mother's birthdays.

I didn't get any new anime or manga this past weekend but still had numerous scans of stuff I sold of on Ebay not so long ago. I enjoyed the series Galaxy Angel which is part of the reason why I'm holding on to the first season releases but it was time to pass on some of the later. Galaxy Angel Z volumes 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 came with nice original artwork postcards, colorful sleeve coverart, pictured discs, & short booklets. For good measure I also included the Galaxy Angel S Special LE.

It shouldn't be any surprise that I sold off the Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Oh-Ki DVD-Box because I own the Blu-ray set. However, believe it or not I never watched the Urusei Yatsura Movie 2: Beautiful Dreamer disc. I really like all the scenes depicted in the awesome booklet included with the DVD but for some reason never set aside time to actually view it. Why yes, I was making a decent amount of money back in the day that I could purchase a 6,000 Yen DVD that I would eventually never watch.

Next, it shouldn't be any shock that I enjoy alcohol and go to certain lengths to visit distilleries, wineries, & brewpubs. Driving around the Lexington to Louisville area I've always ment to take some time & visit establishments along the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. On the way home last Friday I made a deviation from the quickest way back to stop in Loretto to visit the Maker's Mark Distillery. I was surprised how a small establishment like them in the middle of nowhere can provide as much product worldwide as they do.

The area is quite pretty & you get a sense of the historical value of Maker's Mark during the free tour. It was cool to see workers hand dipping the wax for each bottle. While there I secured five bottles of their new product Maker's 46 pictured with President Aira in the last image. They just released this new premium bourbon earlier this year but I couldn't find it sold anywhere in northeast Ohio. To best describe it would to say it's Maker's Mark Lite. It doesn't smack you in the taste buds & throat like their normal product but has a more studdle, subdued taste with an extremely smooth finish. It's probably a great product to get people started on bourbons/whiskeys but be careful because at 94 proof the alcohol with catch up with you quickly.

Finally, a couple weeks back a friend send me an email with a link to the "World's Coolest Liquor Bottles." I've seen or owned most of them except for the Coronation Khukri XXX Rum produced by Nepal Distilleries. The bottle is shaped after the traditional Nepali curved knife for which it's named and individually manufactured by hand with a rough finish. I was a bit disappointed by the plastic handle but overall the product is unique, from somewhere half around the world, & contains an award winning "Taste of the Himalayas."

[2010-08-18, 00:40]

First of all, thanks to all of you who bid on the auctions. Was a bit surprised the publications didn't get any bids but maybe I just set the initial price too high. Proceeds have gone to pay off the bedroom furniture & other family birthday gifts which take place in August.

Speaking of birthdays my 33rd was back on the 9th. Priorities change the older you get & it shouldn't be much of a surprise that I wanted stuff for the house. Even though I live by myself & get few visitors I wanted a decent casual dinnerware set. After searching through many department stores & online sites I settled on the Noritake Colorwave Graphite Coupe Setting. Sort of simple in design but the color goes well with the kitchen & the amount the plates and bowls can hold is generous but not overwhelming. Microwave, dishwasher, and oven safe makes them a bit idiot proof for warming or cleaning. I got eight 4-piece settings & two floral accent plates figuring anything more warrents using paper plates. Finally, since they seem to be the same price everywhere I got them from Bed Bath & Beyond because I knew a few of people who still had enough 20% coupons for the store and asked for gift certificates as birthday gifts.

Getting on to anime/manga related items the only new purchase has been the D.Gray-Man vol.28 Graphic Novel. However, as you may guess whenever I sell stuff off I scan them before shipping them out. I just got done the DVDs for Sailor Moon R. For some reason I never cared for this season. It makes me shudder a bit when I compare these updates to my postings for Sailor Moon S or Sailor Stars because the latter are smaller, with the covers split between two images, & the UPC whited out. You may notice the print & decorative stars seem dark. That's because they were a reflective material which comes out black when scanned. So here's volumes 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, & 8.

[2010-08-04, 13:01]

Welcome to the dog days of summer. Sorry no new anime/manga to report, but I am doing some house cleaning and trimming down the collection just a bit.

I posted a couple auctions on Ebay a couple days ago which end this Saturday and hoping for the best. Of course all proceeds go to keeping the site up and acquiring more stuff.

Auction 1
- Replicant volumes 1-34
- Replicant Works volumes 1-5
- Replicant: T's Chronicles Miyagawa Takeshi Works
- Replicant: Evangelion Figure Archive 1996-2004
- Figure Works: Brother's Sato Collection
- Kotobukiya All Figure Catalog
- Satoshi Urushihara Illustations: Phi

Auction 2
- FLCL DVD-Box (English Subtitles & Audio track for all 6 episodes)
- Full Metal Alchemist Conqueror of Shamballa Premium DVD-Box (English Subtitles)
- Hellsing Ultimate OVA Blu-ray vol.6 & 7 Regular Editions (No English subtitles or audio)
- Tenchi Muyo! Ryo-Oh-Ki DVD-Box (English Audio track for all 13 episodes)

Auction 3
- Cowboy Bebop CD-Box w/Bonus
- Galaxy Angel Music Collection w/Collector's Boxes
- Galaxy Angel S Special Limited Edition
- Galaxy Angel Z vol.1-5 w/Collector's Box
- Sailor Moon R vol.1-8 w/Collector's Box
- Steel Angel Kurumi New Master Version vol.1-6 w/Collector's Box
- Steel Angel Kurumi OVA Single Collection
- Urusei Yatsura Movie: Beautiful Dreamer

Finally, just when I thought I was used to purchasing overpriced merchandise by importing for more than a decade I went furniture shopping. Late July through August is a great time to buy because a lot of funiture stores are trying to get rid of inventory before the new stuff comes out in October.

The first two pictures are a nice dresser w/mirror and 5 drawer chest part of the Cambridge collection of Aspen Home. Sure they may be just stained poplar instead of more solid wood such as oak or maple but the drawers are constructed with European dovetail corners and feature full extension ball bearing drawer glides. It's heavy enough that running into it will not budge it but not so that a rigger is needed to move it. Got the set from Andreas Furniture down in Sugarcreek, OH for about $450 cheaper than anywhere else including online.

Below it is a demilune sofa table that purchased from Levin Furniture. I had a nice mirror as you head down the stair to the basement but needed an accent piece below it. Rectangular ones crowded the area & impeded the entrance to the basement. I saw the table at their Oakwood, OH location while they had a tent sale going on. It was a floor model (nothing wrong with it) they were trying to get rid of and priced down to $250 from $800. It was hard to find a piece that complemented the size, color, & design of the mirror and I was ready to pounce on the opportunity.

The first time I went there I asked the sales person for an addition discount because it was a floor model but she said no. I then waited until the last hour of the weekend hoping it would still be there knowing that the sales force would be extremely tired & possibly willing to deal if their numbers were low. I purposely found another sales person staying away from the original one I dealt with & he aggreed to an additional 10% discount if I paid outright & took it home immediately (which was my plan anyways). It saved me the cost of taxes & a little more.

This basically completes upstairs except for a formal dining room table which I won't need for quite some time. Next large expenses such as finishing the basement & adding a storage shed to the back yard can wait until next year.