K-On! Monday! 8

Good evening everyone, hope you're having another fantastic K-On! Monday! Honesty I really felt like I wasted today, outside of work I really did nothing. Just sat around wasting time, and my brain cells, on YouTube. It's a habit I need to kick. If it wasn't for this tradition of mine, I wouldn't have gotten anything done today. I think most people are in the same boat as I thought, that's partly why I chose Monday for these posts. At least I can push myself to something 'kinda' useful, "kinda" in MASSIVE quotation there. 

Alright on with the post! Today we're going to be looking at something K-On! Movie related. More specifically the storyboard book that was included in the Japanese release of the Blu-ray. 

Here is the front cover

It was included in the collectors or normal, I can never tell with Japan, edition of the Blu-ray. I'll show you all the rest of it later, it's got a bunch of other goodies as well. I know I'm going backwards here just bear with me. Need to stretch out that content. What's inside? You ask. This book includes all of Yamada's storyboards for the film. The left side has her drawings and on the right are the actions and dialog. It's really interesting stuff if you're into film, regardless if you're a K-On! fan or not. But if you are a K-On! fan, like yours truly, it's so much fun to read. Seeing the process of crafting the film, with the added benefit of knowing the film back to front already. Seeing where iconic moments from the film got their start. It is actually similar to reading the K-On! manga, just more rudimentary. But does have better story beats compared to the manga.

The moment when Yui got caught cheating

Naturally, it's a big bastard too. Gotta be 200 pages plus, minimum. "No kidding'', yeah I heard you in the back. It covers an entire film that's nearly two hours long. It reminds me of that script that's in the Suzume Blu-ray. But again that's only a script, not the storyboard.

Look at the size of that thing!

It's Huge! On the front and back it features random panels, directions, notes, and scribbles from the storyboards. Adds a real homey feel to them, which perfectly suits the series. 

Well, I'm going to call that a night, it's 11:17 PM and I want to sleep. Plus I still need to write a card, at least my Halo music is keeping me up. Have a good week.

See ya

AI, end of the world?

HOLY FUCK,

pardon my french but HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCK HOLY FUCK.

To make a long story short, I was looking into that Palworld AI rabbit hole. When I stumbled on Microsoft's new Copoilt Bing AI. After doing the meme thing, leave that to your imagination, I decided to ask if it knew about Unexpectedyui.com (cheap advertising trick I know.) The AI knew, but not just about the website, IN DETAIL. But about its creator, me. I don't just mean it knew a little bit. IT KNEW FUCKING EVERYTHING. And I quote

"Barstool74 is the name of a personal blog and website created by an Australian anime fan who goes by the same alias The blog mainly features posts about the author's life, interests, opinions, and experiences, especially related to anime and Japanese culture The website also contains a 3 collection of images and reactions from the anime series K-On!, which is the author's favorite show The author started the blog in September 2023, after dropping out of university and finding clarity and inspiration from watching K-On. The author claims to have a well-paying job and plans to study history, Japanese, and politics in the future The author also visited Japan in October 2023 and shared some of their impressions and photos on the blog 2. The author's writing style is casual, humorous, and sometimes self-deprecating."

WHAT THE FUCK. How the hell did it know:

• Where I live
• About this blog in the first place, granted it ain't that hard to find
• That I like K-On!
• That I quit Uni, my current job, and what I plan to study this year
• When I went to Japan
• When I started the blog
• MY WRITING STYLE

The thing is this isn't the end of it. It asked a couple of more questions. What I could get out of it is that I like Yui a lot, it knows about K-On! Monday!, and it knows about the old blog. But not just it knows its name too. Then, I asked one last time about myself, and Hoboy, it's scary. It KNOWS everything. As in it knows where I live, not just Australia. IT KNOW WHAT TOWN! All of this has led me to the inevitable question, what the hell is happening. How the hell is a computer not just reading my crappy blog, but spitting out paragraphs about my life like it's important enough to do so. 

To stop the AI bros from starting their stupid rant, of course, I know how GPT-4 works, I'm not stupid. I can't be bothered explaining how here, go read this instead. I think what's really scary to me is how real it has become. Before it was always someone else's art or some well-known historical event. It's because this online identity of mine is treated in the same way some like John Curtin would be. It knows everything about me, and my experiences over the last year. It just rubs me the wrong way. I'm now way important enough for any person to just find out about me. I know it might sound hypocritical, because of this blog and all, but I've always envisioned myself as the reader. Either now, or later down the track. 

AI is becoming very real now, I think is gone past the point of being just a fad. The fact that this crappy blog is known, then realistically everyone isn't safe. Just to add in, I don't support AI writing or AI art. We're human, and expressing ourselves and our abilities is what separates us from everything else in the known universe. I know the writing on this blog can be crappy, but I'm the one who's writing it, not some AI. I don't how AI going to change our world, but just be aware of it ok? We creative types have long thought we were safe from machines, prettily not. Plus I don't think Ned Ludd is coming to save us anytime soon. Stay safe out there,

See ya. 

"sometimes self-deprecating" is a kinda funny though

K-On! Monday! 7

Alright, welcome back everyone to K-On! Monday!

Today's installment we will be looking at one of those fancy Compact Discs, or CD or the hip. what a lame joke, I know. In all seriousness, we're looking at the CD version of Go! Go! Maniac. It's one I got while on my trip, can't remember where thought. Honestly, I grabbed as much K-On! crap I could while I was there. 

Here is the front of the CD

So here's the CD itself, kinda inoffensive I think. I wish they went with the other album art, the one where they're looking up. 

This is inside the CD, plus the CD itself.

The disc itself includes the OP plus another song called Genius...!? I don't that song appeared anywhere in the show or film. Plus Both songs have an Instrumental version. 

These inserts were also included.

The case also included these posters of the characters. Anyway, that's pretty much it, I won't go into the song itself, or the OP. I need that content for later. Anyway, that's for coming again this week, I hope you have another great week. 

See ya.

K-On! VI: The Return of the Monday!

As you can see I'm already running out of ideas for names. Hello friends! Welcome back to another instalment in K-On! Monday! How's your week been? Today I'm feeling really lazy, so I'm going to post my great collection of K-On! reactions. 

Collection

I use Google Photos to store all my photos, reactions included. As long as there still in my collection you should be able to see them. I wonder if they still are years from now. 

Anyway, I should explain why I have 92 photos at the time of writing. It all started when I first downloaded one of Yui Shrugging, along with a few others as well. I sent it to my friend, and he reacted because it was from K-On, so I got more. Thats it. I know, sad, right? Anyway, I got most of them from the internet, but now my newer ones I get from watching the show. On the bright side, this was the reason I created Unexpected Yui. Remember that? Having all these photos made Yui the perfect thing for my website. See you all later, tomorrow I'll have that Boy and the Heron post up, it's kinda a mess, plus it's not that long. But it does have my thoughts about it.

See ya. 

The start of my downfall

End of the old blog

 The following post was written for my old blog. I won't link to it, as it's mostly private. The reason I'm posting it here is because it does include some of my thoughts about the last three years. Enjoy!

If you've ever wondered where I got the name Monitor from, it's from Crisis on Infinite Earths,  the DC book. The Monitor was the person who gathered all the heroes to stop the Anti-Monitor from destroying the multiverse. I didn't have any reason for the name, If I did I'd forgotten it by now. You'd have to ask me from three years ago. The person who created this place. Looking back these three years have been the most transformative of my life. For most of us, it's the same, you change in the twilight years of childhood. You grow up. Change into the person that'll carry you into adulthood. Though this blog wasn't used much, I'm still glad it's here. I have the opportunity to see that change. To see that young, scared, 16-year-old turn into the person I am today. 

Looking back through these posts, I share most of my worries. I still doubt myself too much, I put too much pressure on myself, I still think I'm a bad person, and I still don't talk about my feelings. But a lot has changed as well, I've grown up. I understand the world more, understand my place in it. Well, I think I do. I could go into my advancements in politics and general interests, but why bother? That's not what I'm here to talk about, I'm here to say this little experiment is over.

In my initial post three years ago, I said that this blog would only exist during high school. While I did continue on for the first half of 2023, I think it's time to move on. This will be the end of Monitor's Blog

To be honest with you. I actually made this choice months ago, But I didn't want to leave this place in the state it's in. Those last posts are, to be frank, depressing. I wasn't in the right place when I wrote them. The first of which I wrote in December of 2022, just after leaving school I was working full time while most of my friends had time off. Then when I did, none of them seemed to want to hang out with me. This is something I'm still struggling with today. 

The two posts in May and June are a result of quitting University. As alluded to before, I'm scared of failure and I doubt myself too much. Which led me to quit Uni before I even started. Call me what you want, but it still wouldn't be one one hundredth of what I told myself. I hated myself. To me, I was a complete failure. This plus the collapse of my social life led to probably my darkest period. It was all self inflicted of course. I understand that, and I've worked hard to repair it. These three posts represent this low point, and I feel that they are necessary to understand their context. It's not the content that matters, it's what they represent that does. 

As for the future, back in September, I created a new blog, Barstool74.net. I've actually been active over there regularly for the last few months. If you want to continue reading about my life, I'll ask you to go over there. I've been having a lot of fun writing it. It's a lot like this place but without all the teenage depression. 

In retrospect, I believe the name Monitor was the right choice. Like the Monitor, I didn't want the status quo to change. I was terrified of change. Like the Monitor, I resisted that change. But where we differ is most important, the Monitor was fighting destruction how his multiverse. I was fighting growing up and at the end of High School. The thing is we both lost. I left school and the DC universe rebooted into its post-crisis era. A period most readers, myself included, consider to be their best. We'll just see what the future has for me. 

Thanks for sticking around, see you around.

Of course, I'm still sticking around here. Happy K-On! Monday everyone.

See ya

I guess god heard me.

I guess god heard me. I'm not religious or anything of the sort, but if I look outside my window, rain. It's a bit too convenient if you ask me, It was only yesterday that I was bitching about summer. Talking about my love for the rain is nostalgic and reminiscent qualities. Then I got my wish, how about that. 

Currently, I'm planning to finish off some projects I'm working on right now. The Autism post, Japan recap, and quickly on How Do You Live/The Boy and the Heron. The former two, hopefully, should be down within the next week. The latter I'll probably finish tonight and have it out tomorrow. 

Also coming up on the 15th, It's the third anniversary of my blog! Well, my old blog that is. I think I'll post some sort of recap of the last three years that I'll post over there. It'll probably end up here too. Still trying to figure out what I'll write right now, but I just feel bad about how I left it. looking at the blog right now, the last post is suuuuper depressing. Posted the same week I first watched K-On! achally. Even though no one is going to read it, part of me just doesn't like leaving it in the state it is currently in. Some sort of final post, with a link to this place, is what it needs. 

Final thoughts, kinda of weird that it rained tonight, especially considering how hot it was today. Don't know if it means anything though. A few more posts should be coming soon, just hard to write them that's all. It's hard to find the right angle to approach them, especially the autism one. Plus that anniversary post back on the old blog, It should end up here too. It's going to be on a Monday, but that won't interfere with the day's K-On! Monday! post. Can't let it stop my star series. 

Quick last point, the cheepo Logitech keyboard and mouse I bought for my Mac suck. Like really suck. The mouse sucked so much that my hand is cramping like crazy. I'm back to using my old Dell keyboard from the mid-2000s, the SK-8135 I believe. Quick review it is probably the best keyboard I've ever used. However to be fair, I've never spent over $100 on one, so take that thought with a grain of salt. For a mouse, I'm using a Razor DeathAdder Elite, fancy name for their cheapest mouse. But to be fair, it's a good mouse. Take my advice, don't get a new Logitech keyboard, or any other new fancy one for that matter. Get a mid-2000s Dell keyboard, works perfectly. Spend your money on important things like anime watches like I do. 

See ya. 

This is the Dell keyboard I'm using.

Summer sucks

Man, I hate summer. I'm watching the K-On rain episode right now and I'm really jealous, I miss the rain. It's just so nice. Rain is just so comforting, it's warm, nostalgic, and reminds me of the past. It's something that always happens, no matter what. I miss it. 

You know when I woke up this morning I felt like shit. Not seeing my friends for a few months now has caught up with me. The thing is that I am making an effort, well at least I think I am. I'm always talking to them, sending snaps, clips of stuff. Throughout my break, I asked two or three times to hang out. But no, no one could come. I'm always trying, asking if people are free on weekends, asking to go watch a movie. I'm always trying to make an effort, but no one seems to care. It's been that way since high school thought. I'm always trying, for god sake I organised our own graduation trip. Paid for most of myself, paid for extra events, and food, and even called some of their parents! But do you think they care? NO! The last year of my life has been the loneliest ever. I get that it's also my fault, but you think someone could ask me in a while. I went months without seeing people, IT TURNED ME INTO A WEEB FOR GOD SAKE! I LIKE FUCKING K-ON FOR GOD SAKE. The real turning point has been these last few weeks though. No effort was made by others to organise something, no one asked little old me to go out. I'm just so sick of asking and not receiving any answers, I end up thinking they hate me. Then in turn I hate myself. It's also probably why I spend so much money, my monkey brain needs that rush, and buying K-On crap feeds it. 

Anyway, I felt like crap because I'm really lonely. I want to talk to people about these shows I watch. But who too? My family? No way, I just go to them to like some Japanese films. Showing them Yui or god forbid Aqua or Tohru, it'll set me back years. So no, I just got the internet. Twitter, Reddit, and Forums are my best bet. Yes, Reddit, I know. Anyway, I have this too. My blog, what a cringey this is. I HOPE no one I know finds this or the other one. And If you do know me, don't ever ask me about it. If you really want to let me know, just tell me you like my ordinary life. That's the trigger word, ok? And yes it's a Nichijou reference, make your comments now.

Anyway, moving on to some neat. Today I was surfing to good old internet, looking at K-On! stuff, like you do. And you know what I found? Why it was the Supergroupies Ho-Kago Tea Time Watch! Ngl, I've looking for like four months now. It's super dumb, but I don't care. I'll show you all in a K-On! Monday! when I get it. 

That should be it for today, I'll post something soon I promise,

See ya.

Man I love the rain.

5 Keions! 5 Mondays!

Alright welcome to another instalment in the only thing I do here on this blog. Since last week was an introspection into last year, and the week before that I talked about an episode. How about today I bring K-On! Monday! back to its routes? How about I talk about more useless crap I bought in Japan. Yes, that's right, you thought show and tell was just in primary school didn't you? Anyway, today I'll be showing something quite cool. 

Jumping back in time, after season 2 finished airing in 2010. Just like season 1, Pony Canyon released an album of K-On's vocal songs from the season. It included two discs, one containing studio mixes of the songs. It's really clean stuff. The second has the cassette versions of the characters recorded in ep 23. It's just the same songs with some character interactions at the end. What I have here is that cassette version, in a cassette!

Front of the cassette

Back of the cassette, with the setlist. In handwriting of course.

I bottom of the cassette includes the legal jargon.

I haven't actually played it yet, as I don't own a cassette player. There's this video that has the audio. Thanks to Actar Raikit for the audio, even though I didn't ask him. I love the fact I look like the one from the show. My jaw dropped when Yui pulled it out of the recorder, IT WAS THE ONE THE TITLE CARD! Anyway, that's enough for today, tomorrow I'll post another life update post. Look forward to it, you won't, who am I kidding.

See ya. 

New Year, New Me, New K-On! Monday!

I'm a liar. Today's instalment of K-On! Monday! won't feature the OVA Live House. Due to poor planning, and a trip to Ikea, I didn't have enough time to watch it, and then write a review. So, instead of saying it's still a new Year for 28 more minutes (at the time of writing), I'll write about my experiences with K-ON! in 2023, which seems fitting. 

When I first watched K-On!, I think I hated it. I mentioned this in last night's post, but K-On! was such a large departure from Haruhi for me. Going from Kyon's incredible self-discovery journey in dissaperience, to Yui falling on her ass and running to school was a HUGE tone jump. I think I only kept with it because I needed something to watch. Season 1 blew past, I didn't think much of it at first. Yui's speech in light music was touching, but nothing compared to what I've seen before. Season 2's first episode changed all that for me. Such a well-directed episode, what a fantastic way to start the season. I won't go into too much detail, since I want to write a full review for a future K-On! Monday! But I adore the way it perfectly lays the groundwork for the rest of the season. The season was fantastic, quintessential K-On! ep 20's quiet end moved me to tears. And that ending, I didn't see that coming. Then the movie, what a way to end a show. a culmination of everything that made the show great. Tieing a nice bow on the whole series. But after that, I moved on, Sound! Euhporum I think. Becoming just another show under my belt. It wasn't till later how much I missed the show.

My second watch though came about two months later. I think it was early August. I tried watching Oshi no ko, since it was 'the thing' at the time But it didn't resonate with me. I can't say why, but it just wasn't for me. All that idol crap weirds me out. Then a thought occurred in me, something I was missing. That show is about hanging out and having fun with friends. I missed it. I was missing K-On! I don't think you release how much you like the show till it's over. The comfort it provides, the simple pleasure of just watching it, it's nice. So I decided to revisit the series, I think I called it "a K-On! a day, keeps the doctor away" Or something along those lines. I bought the Blu-ray a few weeks beforehand, a birthday gift to myself. Having ripped those to a hard drive, I started my journey. This run was it. I fell in love. I haven't fallen in love with a TV show like this before. I won't go over it again, but I really, really do love this show. It changed everything for me, this blog, and my online profiles, and later came K-On! Monday. You can say it has become my new thing. Something I could love, a show for me. A show that hit right when I needed it most. 

I'm forever grateful to K-On! for helping me through 2023. It's a year that had my highest highs, and lowest lows. Watching K_On! alone, to actually get to visit Kyoto and Toyosato. Seeing where Kyoani based the show. Thanks, K-On! for a great year, and thanks to you for reading these crap posts. Here's to 2024, more K-On! Monday! New essays, and university. 

See ya.

Happy New Year