Reading: The New Yorker - Fiction Edition
Music: NOFX
TV/Movie: Monty Pythong episodes
Link o' the Day: Maison Ikokku by Rumiko Takahashi



Rumor has it... Author JRR Tolkein was once kidnapped as a baby while the family resided in South Africa.

Rumor has it... The look of the Death Star in Star Wars was based on the layout for campus of the University of Arizona--the idea being that the layout maximizes breezes throughout the station, keeping it cool during times of high activity.

Rumor has it... The Rhode Island Blood Bank is sinking at an average of an inch per year because engineers did not factor in the weight of blood supplies when calculating the strength requirements for the building's foundation.



Rumor has it... Pandas are the only animal that can recognize written language.

Rumor has it... Ants can see in the dark, but they cannot hear. Likewise, in daylight, an ant's hearing is among the best in the insect world, but their eyesight is very poor.



Rumor has it... Japanese voice actress Inoue Kikuko voiced all twelve female roles, and three male roles in the short-lived anime series Shiny Shiny Top Round Soldier School. Due to union rules, she could only be paid for five roles for any one episode, so the producers scheduled three times as many episodes as is normal for a single seaon, then spliced them together days before airing.

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I was thinking...

How many times do you folks want to read about my work schedule? This is probably the most boring part of these daily posts. Suffice to say, I'm keeping nose to the grindstone, and work continues. I think I'm just going to limit this section of my daily post to new news of note about either new projects, projects going off to printers, or interesting developments (like cover designs) that might be of interest.

Back to our regularly scheduled post...

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Today's link goes to a page devoted to one of my all-time favorite manga and anime series: Maison Ikokku by Rumiko Takahashi. It's a romantic comedy about a young man, Godai, who is trying to get into college, but is distracted by the crazy folk who live in his apartment complex, and his sudden infatuation with the newly arrived manager, Kyoko, who also happens to be a young, beautiful widow. Godai has lots of ups and downs. It's a real roller coaster combo of comedy and drama brought to you by master manga-ka Rumiko Takahashi, creator of other such hit series as Urusei Yatsura, Ramna 1/2, and InuYasha. This is probably my favorite of her works, although I confess I'm a huge fan or UY and Ranma as well.

Anyway, if you've not heard of the series--check it out. Manga can still be found in English and Japanese, and the anime series is available on DVD.

Cheers!