See the note after the URL list for an update note! Update September 6, 2015 I had since forgotten I started to set up a mirror of my now defunct WebTV site on here, so maybe I'll get back to updating it. One bonus - more space! Images on this index page are now working, so I'll be slowly getting things back together.

In Memory...

This is a picture of one of my cat friends, Tabbytha, a snappy taken in October 2001 after I had just installed the Snappy software and found the module worked. (In fact, it was my first Snappy from our videocamera.) She had some sort of labored breathing, and was barely able to make a sound. (She was a noisy cat otherwise.) She hadn't drank or eaten much. Her condition got worse over the weekend rather quickly and dramatically. As of this month, August 03, we'll have had the pleasure of her companionship for about 16-17 years. I remember when we first got her. My younger sister brought her home from a yard sale. Tabbytha came to us in exchange for me repairing some controllers for an Atari 5200 game system. She became a very loving and affectionate cat, and in recent years sought out my company more than anyone else. In the morning she developed a meow that I swear sounded like her saying "Hello??" which was her way to get us up and give her food. She enjoyed new people who came to visit, one girl from Japan took her picture because Tabbytha wouldn't leave her alone! ^_^ As I type this, I'm reminded of a song that Art Garfunkel sings at the end of the animated movie Watership Down. The song is called "Bright Eyes", and the words that come to mind:

How can something burn so bright

suddenly burn so pale

Bright Eyes

Tabbytha had the brightest eyes of the cat friends we've had over the years. Because I loved this cat so much, I wanted to make sure someone knew Tabbytha existed and cared.

According to what I've been told, and I know this is going to sound odd to some people who know me, when my younger sister came to take Tabbytha down to the vet for euthanasia, it was just after 11 AM today (8/20/03) after she had been weighed (she weighed only 5 pounds) that she had stiffened up in my younger sister's arms and then went limp. The vet who was to examine her was able to listen to Tabbytha's heart stop with a stethoscope. She didn't last to get the injection that would have helped her find peace. Instead, Angels came to take Tabbytha home with them. In a way, that's good. But most importantly, she wasn't alone when the time came. I have cried each time I've lost one of my cat friends, and it never gets easier with each one. I've got lots of photos and even some home video of Tabbytha, and I'll treasure the memories. I can only hope her soul (I believe good cats have souls) will return again in some form. We gave her so much love when she was with us, and Tabbytha returned it many times over. We spent money to save her life when it was in danger, and the investment was returned more than we could have imagined. So now I cry, but the tears aren't of sadness, instead my tears are because of love. I may never cry enough to heal the hurt from losing Tabbytha. But it was time.

I'm going to search my archives for Tabbytha video to add to a page I've begun for her. Please visit A Page for Tabbytha. Most people don't love their cats as much as they should, but then they didn't have Tabbytha living with them. Maybe I'll add a guestbook and people can add stuff on cats they loved and have passed away.

I WON!!!

Guess what, minna!! I won a prize in Super Manga Blast!'s haiku writing contest! Buy a copy of issue #28 (January 2003) of Super Manga Blast! from Dark Horse and see my name printed in there!! tottemo subarashii desu nyo!!!

It took a few weeks, but I got my prizes. I selected a Kei sketch by Utatane-sensei (from Seraphic Feather) and a Shadow Lady: Sudden Death graphic novel. I haven't yet added issue #21 to my Shadow Lady issues collection, so this will be enough until I do. The sketch was scanned and adapted as a Mako/Revo wallpaper, and I added a little using the drawing programs I installed on it. (Though now I should look into replacing the AAA Nimh batteries...)

Also check out Oh My Goddess! Issue #96. I finally FINALLY got a letter printed in that one. After collecting all the issues all these years!!!

And check out Oh My Goddess! Issue #100!!!! I got a letter in that issue, too! Congrats on 100 issues to the 2 people who edit Oh My Goddess! for Dark Horse.

AND - I got an email printed in Ghost in the Shell 2: Man-Machine Interface #6! Though the guy who replies makes a few weakly supported points to my letter.

From the first Sailor Moon Superfamicom game!

Sailor Jupiter!! Waaazuuppp!! My eternal thanks to Shinobu-sama for helping me get 2 Sailor Moon games that work on my modified Super Nintendo. I got captures like this to add soon.

"Hey, Mom! Guess what followed me home!"

Actually, this is myself at Anime North in June 1999, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, showing my friend Ganymede, who is operating the video camera, one of the many treasures I scored the 2nd day of the convention - a Kero-chan nuigurumi that I purchased from Hitoshi Doi, Guest of Honor from Japan! Hitoshi was surprised that it sold so quickly. Well... I saw the one Ganymede had so I knew right away what I wanted when I saw it again! ^_^ The colors are kinda over-saturated. I had to gamma correct for the darkness of the video. We were waiting for the panel on Japanese voice actors, with none other than Hitoshi Doi! This capture was done by good friend Bruce C. and added to my page by request. If this isn't recent enough, I'll scan my face and add the caption "Help! I got stuck in the scanner!!!" (warau!)

Updated URL listing! I finally signed up for one of those guestbook thingies. This one is linked to a page at Geocities, so use your back button to get back to this page when you go read or sign it. ^_^;; March 24, 2010: I am in the process of making a few changes to Geocities or Yahoo! Photos URLs to Jimdo or Flickr links. For Geocities stuff, you can try The Internet Archive with the link that now goes nowhere due to that site being shut down in late 2009. I'm struggling with Jimdo at the moment. Other stuff from my mind Translations I have done Dango 3 Kyoudai translation Wedding Peach SFC game manual translation Oh My Goddess! Small Things are Handy! TV series info Hyper Police character info! More to come maybe! Wedding Peach FURIL CD translations Kaitou St. Tail lyrics Virgin Love from Wedding Peach, the song from the 1st Card Captor Sakura movie, "taiyou no rakuen ~ Promised Land~" Paradise of the Sun from Mermaid Melody, and NEWLY ADDED from the rare Wedding Peach Gift CD "ai tenshi densetsu" Translations for Mio Odagi's gakuen toraburu Magical Mates stories 8 and 9 (which would have been Antarctic Press issues 7 and 8) Translations I have not done Crystals, Petals, and Mysteries for Sailor Moon Galleries! People love these! Andy's Snappy Anime Pics from Anime North [UPDATED Anime North 2006 and now with Flickr links] My Comic Strip Flickr link coming soon Flickr photo set of some of my Anime Treasures Another Flickr link to come soon Some photos I've been meaning to share Say Hello to Bruce Osborne in a Kodak Moment! ^_^ Lists of information! Stupid Lists Updated November 2006! #2 list of all time! My Sailor Moon Colllectible Card Game list of extras to trade! Don't miss the Jem stickers, too! Some cool people in the world who have webpages! Shinobu-sama's main page! (She's a big fan of Ren & Stimpy!) I guess she removed the page. A new link I think I have will be here soon. A Light For Me - Fellow fan manga translator runs this site dedicated to a lot of Clamp's works. ganbatte, Kevin-san! This page last time I checked was gone. When the Hungries hit, hit the Red Barn! Awesome! Red Barn restaurants used to be around in lots of places where I live, and you perhaps see them where you are. Now they serve as other retail establishments. If you know where one of these still standing former Red Barn restaurants are, take a photo and then get on that page and send a copy to the guy who runs it. I've been looking for Red Barn info like this for some time!!

Veganova's Showbizz Pizza Place fan page I used to work at Showbiz Pizza Place in Columbus years ago, and I was pleased to share info on some of the things that I saved from my first job with a paycheck. ShowBiz Pizza.com Note: updated URL to a Tripod page. Watch out for Tripod's popups. I don't know where the link banner is located there.

Mio Odagi's Manga Gallery

Since she's put the banner link info on her own webpage, so I've decided to put a link to her website. She signed my 6 Magical Mates issues as published by Antarctic Press at Anime North 2001!! go shinsetsu ni doumo arigatou gozaimashita, Odagi-sensei! I even purchased her CHICK manga / convention report issues 8, 9, and 10, and I'm glad to say I'll be translating for fun the Magical Mates stories in 9 and 10 which would have been AP issues 7 and 8 if they hadn't abruptly ended their translated manga. Odagi-sensei, daisuki!! She's beautiful and married to Hyper Dolls creator, Shimpei Itoh.

Odagi-sensei actually signing my Magical Mates issues! Mio Odagi and Shinpei Itoh BOTH touched my collection of those 6 books! She signed them and Shinpei made the marker ink dry faster so it wouldn't smear. go shinsetsu ni doumo arigatou gozaimasu! (Thanks Bruce C for the captures!)

My mother passed away October 15, 2009 during a brief illness, which I think was Swine Flu but she caught it from me but there were no tests done and I don't have my answers as to why. I am in counseling for the depression I have suffered since then. I miss my mom and I'm not afraid to say I've cried a lot since then. I need her and she wasn't done with raising me. It's a shock and pretty hard to find your own mother in her bed and not breathing. tonikaku... I used to have some pages on Geocities. See note above. I had a tooth removed Feb 21, 2001, after 2 months of suffering with cold sensitivity and other exposed nerve pain! And I got to keep the tooth! Click here to see... The Tooth! Go to my Ranma 1/2 page here to see my work with original titles and translations. I bet Viz'll never release or acknowledge the Hot Song Fighting Contest.   The tools I use to translate I've gotten so many requests to know which books and all that I use to study, translate, and learn Japanese. So, in no particular order: Living Language Japanese Dictionary ISBN: 0-517-59067-0 This was the first Japanese dictionary I bought. It's all romanized and indicates long O with a double OO. It's not very useful on its own. Martin's Concise Japanese Dictionary ISBN: 0-8048-1912-2 by Samuel E. Martin This is the 2nd dictionary I bought and at the time it was $17. This one is very useful for anyone studying Japanese at any level. It has romanized (roumaji) as well as kanji and kana in the listings. It romanizes the long O with a line above it, but there's a nice footnote in the front that explains the historical correctness of using "ou". So keep that in mind when romanizing Japanese - long o is very important since my dictionaries go to lengths to indicate its existence. (either by oo, ou, oh, or o-). The Complete Japanese Verb Guide ISBN: 0-8048-1564-X by The Hiroo Japanese Center The key to understanding Japanese is by first learning how to use verbs. This book isn't as complete as it claims, but it's still quite useful. The Spahn / Hadamitzky Japanese Character Dictionary ISBN: 0-88727-170-7 published by Cheng & Tsui co. The one I use the most, also cost the most. There's been at least one new edition published since I bought this $40 monster. I'd love a good electronic version if they ever invent it. This one does make it clear between kanji such as "to" and "tou". ^_^ Nihongo Pera Pera! by Susan Millington ISBN: 0-8048-1890-8 I had been looking for a book just like this one when my older sister gave to me as a gift one year. Very useful! You can find out what "pera pera" means as well as lots of useful Japanese onomatopoeia (aka sound words). Barron's Japanese Grammar by Carol and Nobuo Akiyama ISBN: 0-8120-4643-9 Asides from being rather inexpensive and a little badly organized as far as page numbers is concerned, this book shed light on how to decipher sentences in Japanese. Yes, it's useful when starting out. After translating for almost 5 years, I rarely refer to it anymore. Essential Japanese Grammar by Everett F. Bleiler ISBN: 0-486-21027-8 The oldest of the books I have (published in 1963 originally) this was more informative on some points, some of which I forget right now. It's also rather cheap, too. Making Out in Japanese ISBN: 4-900737-09-7 and More Making Out in Japanese ISBN: 4-900737-10-0 by Todd and Erika Geers Written by a married couple (the wife is Japanese) out of a necessity that what he was learning in textbooks wasn't exactly what he was hearing. (I think.) But anywho, learn things like lover's language and make people think you actually do know what people are saying about you! Fun and informative - and cheap, too! Berlitz Japanese Phrase Book and Dictionary ISBN: 2-8315-0898-3 Berlitz books are well known for their usefulness when travelling. They can help you out in any part of the world in their different editions. Moderately cheap ($7) but also informative. Not useful for translating, but a good thing to pick up when you feel like learning how to say something (or whatever - I'm rambling here.) Japanese Made Easy by Dr. Tazuko Ajiro Monane ISBN: 0-8048-1219-5 I ordered this one years ago on the recommendation of someone who had it. I haven't read it on the whole yet, but it's a nifty little self-study course to help you learn enough Japanese in different sentence patterns to help you get the most of a visit to Japan. I think it's unusual in that the author has a middle name because most Japanese people don't, or at least that's what I've noticed. Not in that list is the free JWP software that you can install on Windows XP or any palm sized Windows CE device like the HP Jornada my friend Jay got for me. I have a few random others which aren't as useful such as Wicked Japanese for the Business Traveler, Vest Pocket Japanese, and Conversational Japanese in 7 days. And books I've seen and almost purchased include slang-specific, Japanese idioms, and name kanji. Those might be useful, though you gotta watch to make sure you get a book full of info, and not just "stuff". I even have one on Chinese Classifiers which I may sell. One that people will find useful is "Kanji Pict o Graphix" by Michael Rowley, ISBN 0-96281-0-2. $19.95 US The book has an excellent reference for learning katakana and hiragana, and I used info from it for the basis of my "Kana on your Atari" teaching program. ^_^ And for some reason I also have a book on recognizing kanji characters in a walk through Chinatown (probably in San Francisco?). It's a neat book, though not as useful as a dictionary is, but if you want to start out learning a few kanji without too much info, it's OK. So there ya have it - the books I have that help me study Japanese. Now I don't have to keep retyping this over and over!! Now get out there, get these books, and translate some manga!!!! (or better yet, translate some anime, music lyric, or find that special someone in Japan!!!)   Oh yeah, disclaimer. Just because there is webspace on a computer's hard drive allocated for this stuff doesn't mean WebTV or its sponsors agree with me. And I don't speak for them, either. The opinions expressed are my own, and even though they are well-reasoned and insightful, they are not those of WebTV, nor are they to be taken seriously unless you agree with them. OK? Good. Oh yeah, and in case you were wondering about things like copyright thingies, I claim no copyrights to any of the images or likenesses thereof for any characters or whatever stuff like that which I have floating around here (except for pics which are mine, and though I don't tell you which is which, it should be painfully obvious), and only those that should be implied are for those which should be there (ie I know which is which). I'm probably using stuff that I've not asked permission to use, but under stuff like the Fair Use clause or whatever, I'm not using them to promote me, make money, or rip anyone off. It's for fan purposes only, to inform and enlighten, and if you don't want to be enlightened, go live in a cave! Sometimes some people just make me sick! Thank you for reading my rant and disclaimer, which can and will be amended, added to, and updated as need be. next page