Recently, I have been hunting down all the series written be Shirow Masamune. I have not had much luck. Then to my amazement, Dark Horse went and translated another of his works, Appleseed. That's two down, many more to go.
Appleseed volume 1 "The Promethean Challenge"
Le Chevalier d'Eon volume 3
The Last Uniform volume 2
Yubisaki Milk Tea volume 6
Not very many things came in so I put in a massive special order tonight for a couple dozen books. It should make for a good new years.
Gals! volume 9
Hana-Kimi volume 21
Kamichama Karin volume 7* (Final Volume)
Trinity Blood volume 4
Trinity Blood Reborn on Mars Novel 1 "The Star of Sorrow"
We went book hunting yesterday for an order of books for a school. One of our suppliers screwed up and did not sent them. Soooooooo.............. we went hunting around all the book stores in central SC and down to Augusta to find enough copies. we got close to the 40 we needed. while we were at Borders in Augusta, my sweety treeted me to an early Christmas present by buying me all the manga I had picked out. : - ) I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!
Boys Be volume 15
FullMetal Alchemist volume 15
Her Majesty's Dog volume 7
Lunar Legend Tsukihime volume 3
MPD-Psycho volume 1
Nana volume 7
Negima! volume 16
Stray Little Devil volume 5* (Final Volume)
Welcome to the N.H.K. volume 4
I've been going through my books and have found that a lot of them are done. who knew. I also found a couple of series that the publisher has dropped for one reason or another. One being Steel Angel Kurumi, ADV has stopped printing 2 volumes short of completing it. I have no idea why. The fun part is going to be finding a translated copy of the last 2 volumes. I have had no success so far.
Enchanter volume 6
Girls Bravo volume 10 (Final Volume)
Tenjho Tenge volume 16
More unboxing today, like I don't wear myself out enough working full time at my main job. After I get off there, I unbox books at the store. Why you ask, two words "First Dibs". A good example was yesterday. only two copies of the ninth volume of vampire hunter D shipped to the store, neither made it to the shelf. I got one and the unboxer who was also looking for it got the other. Sorry, well not really.
Life volume 7
Suzuka volume 6 (only copy, hee hee ; - )
More unboxing today. I found lots of unexpected goodies so it's all right. There were a lot of titles that haven't come out in over a year. Destiny, Drama, Gunslinger, and Unbalance X2. Happy Reading everyone!
Destiny's Hand volume 2
Dramacon volume 3
Eureka Seven "Gravity Boys & Lifting Girl" 01
Faeries' Landing volume 18
Gacha Gacha The Next Revolution volume 5
Grenadier volume 5
Gunslinger Girl volume 6
Trinity Blood Novel 2 Rage Against the Moons "Silent Noise"
Unbalance Unbalance volume 2
Vampire Hunter D Novel 9 "The Rose Princess"
Vampire Hunter D Manga volume 1
Welcome to the NHK volume 5
Pretty Face volume 3
Tsukuyomi Moon Phase volume 9
Here she is kicking my but at Pangya! Nice shot!!!
FYI: An Albatross is a -3 shot, one better than an Eagle.
Lack of Restraint + Sale = More Manga
40% off sales don't come around that often, so you have to make the best of them right? That's what I keep telling myself anyway. I'm now have 372 volumes backlogged that I haven't read yet. Is there a therapy group for this? This is all Marcy's fault! Long story.
Air Gear volume 6
Chibi Vampire volume 6
Full Metal Alchemist Novel 4 "Under the Faraway Sky"
Genshiken volume 9* (Final Volume)
Hana-Kimi volume 20
Hayate the Combat Butler volume 5
I HATE YOU more than anyone! volume 2
Junk -Record of the Last Hero- volume 4
My Dearest Devil Princess volume 1
Rose Hip Zero volume 4
School Rumble volume 7
Shakugan No Shana Novel "Fight Day"
Tenshi Ja Nai!! "I'm No Angel!" volume 8* (Final Volume)
The Tarot Café volume 6
The Young Magician volume 8 and 9
Threads of Time volume 10
Yotsuba&! volume 5
More hijinks, mayhem, and fan service in this second volume of He is my master.
After paying for the salvation of her kingdom with her body, (oh it's not that bad) Alita now serves Falis as her maid as Falis reunites the kingdom under her rule.
He is My Master volume 2
Murder Princess volume 2 Final Volume
The title of this entry is what one of the guys at waldens said to me when he saw "Alice on Deadlines" in the shipment this past week and he was right. It's a hoot, pantie.... uh I mean plenty of action, gore, and well panties. Yes, lots of fan service to go around. A must read, well if you like that sort of thing : - )
This next one is a real treat. The final volume of "Arm of Kannon" (Birth) is out after a year and a half. This series started out being released every three months but has stretched out over the last couple of volumes. The last, volume 8 came out in April of 06. But if you like Gore, destruction on a massive scale, dismemberment, decapitation, death, and just all around horror that makes scenes from a Nazi death camp look like Mr. Roger's neighborhood then you will LOVE this.
Still reading earlier volumes of Claymore. A cool action series, the plot thickens with even deadlier enemies.
The twisted lives of the Sohmas continue in this latest volume. Ren finally finds salvation in the arms of Hatsuharu after being tortured and locked up be Akito.
Another new series I started this week is "Suppli". Don't let the shrink wrap detour you, no foul language or nudity at all, I promise. Actually, the story line is geared towards adults anyway so its a moot point. It follows the life of a single working woman in her late twenties who has become desensitized to her relationships and her work. It takes her boyfriend of six years dumping her to make her realize that she's just been floating through life without paying much attention to anything. Completely in shock and not sure what to do, her coworkers come to the rescue and take her out on the town and try to cheer her up. She had been so caught up in her career that she never even noticed the people around her. So with some new friends at her side and some advances by a coworker who started at the same time as her but she never even noticed until a wardrobe accident on the train reunited them, she is trying to start over.
The last book for this time is "Translucent", the second volume is out and it is very sweet. Young love is blooming under some difficult circumstances.
Alice on Deadlines volume 1
Arm of Kannon volume 9
Claymore volume 10
Fruits Basket volume 18
Suppli volume 1
Translucent volume 2
And here I thought Christmas was starting too early. I have always heard that Christmas shopping season started too early but there is one other thing that takes the cake and that would be election season. And just like Christmas, people get sick of it before it ever gets here. That would be the case for yours truly. I have studied U.S. law for almost 8 years, not in law school but on my own and I think I got a better education for my money. (well tuition was free.) I learned that if I had of gone to law school and graduated, I would have been committing an act of treason. Don't believe me? Study it for yourself. I'll give you a starting point. To practice law in this country these days you need to be BAR certified. B.A.R. is an acronym, it stands for British Accreditation Regency. When you pass the BAR exam you receive the title of "Esquire". Now read the Constitution, Especially paying attention to the part where it expressly forbids the U.S. from bestowing titles. Now put two and two together. Where does that title come from? why from the first letter of that acronym I mentioned earlier. So there in lies the problem. A sworn allegiance to The U.S. as part of the judicial branch of the government AND and an allegiance to Great Brittan for accepting a title of nobility from the British crown. Figure out the rest for yourself. That is just the tip of the iceberg. The Injustices that are going on in this country that are being perpetrated by the people that we are paying to serve us is staggering.
All this is a precursor to the main topic of this entry and that would be some of the issues of this current election season. One of the things that saddened me most was that the old mayor of N.Y. who is pro choice (in other words, finds it legally permissible to stick a razor sharp blender into a child's skull and frappe its brain into puree and then chuck his or her body in the trash.) is being given the backing of one of the most upstanding preachers in America. What the hell went wrong?! I listen to NPR (National Public Radio) while I drive all over the place and that is where I heard the most absurd thing I have hear in my entire life coming out of the mouth of a politician. There was an interview with Ron Paul on his stance with the issues of his campaign and he was being ask about his stance on taxes and spending. He replied that the income tax was unconstitutional and that he would abolish it if he became president. I then thought to myself, if this guy was pro life I might actually re register and vote for the first time since I was eligible. Sure enough I went to his web site (just Google Ron Paul) and what do you know, he is pro life. While I was there I looked at some of his writings on the tax issue and did find some faults in his writings. This is a copy/paste from one of his articles.
"Could America exist without an income tax? The idea seems radical, yet in truth America did
just fine without a federal income tax for the first 126 years of its history. Prior to 1913, the
government operated with revenues raised through tariffs, excise taxes, and property taxes,
without ever touching a worker's paycheck. In the late 1800s, when Congress first attempted to
impose an income tax, the notion of taxing a citizen's hard work was considered radical! Public
outcry ensued; more importantly, the Supreme Court ruled the income tax unconstitutional.
Only with passage of the 16th Amendment did Congress gain the ability to tax the productive
endeavors of its citizens."
The main problem is that he states that the 16th amendment gave Congress the power to tax income, THIS IS A LIE!!! The Supreme Court did rule that the income tax was unconstitutional and illegal but at the same time it also ruled that the 16th amendment was also unconstitutional and outright dangerous and I quote "This result, instead of simplifying the situation and making clear the limitations on the taxing power, which obviously the Amendment must have been intended to accomplish, would create radical and destructive changes in our constitutional system and multiply confusion."
This is a direct quote from the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in the case BRUSHABER v. UNION PACIFIC R. CO., 240 U.S. 1 (1916). Look at the date, 92 years ago the Court realized what would become of our nation and as a result put a stop to it. But we did not listen? Thanks to "public uneducation" our children are not taught true history and government. They say that history is written by the winners. That makes the American people the losers.
Here is the full text of the Landmark cast you will never hear about, the one that tied the hands of congress so that it could not pick pocket America.
U.S. Supreme Court BRUSHABER v. UNION PACIFIC R. CO., 240 U.S. 1 (1916) 240 U.S. 1
FRANK R. BRUSHABER, Appt., v. UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD COMPANY. No. 140.
Argued October 14 and 15, 1915. Decided January 24, 1916.
[240 U.S. 1, 2] Messrs. Julien T. Davies, Brainard Tolles, Garrard Glenn, and Martin A. Schenck for appellant.
Mr. Henry W. Clark for appellee.
[240 U.S. 1, 5] Solicitor General Davis, Assistant Attorney General Wallace, and Attorney General Gregory for the United States.
[240 U.S. 1, 9]
Mr. Chief Justice White delivered the opinion of the court:
As a stockholder of the Union Pacific Railroad Company, the appellant filed his bill to enjoin the corporation from complying with the income tax provisions of the tariff act of October 3, 1913 ( II., chap. 16, 38 Stat. at L. 166). Because of constitutional questions duly arising the case is here on direct appeal from a decree sustaining a motion to dismiss because no ground for relief was stated.
The right to prevent the corporation from returning and paying the tax was based upon many averments as to the repugnancy of the statute to the Constitution of the United States, of the peculiar relation of the corporation to the stockholders, and their particular interests resulting from many of the administrative provisions of the assailed act, of the confusion, wrong, and multiplicity [240 U.S. 1, 10] of suits and the absence of all means of redress which would result if the corporation paid the tax and complied with the act in other respects without protest, as it was alleged it was its intention to do. To put out of the way a question of jurisdiction we at once say that in view of these averments and the ruling in Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & T. Co. 157 U.S. 429 , 39 L. ed. 759, 15 Sup. Ct. Rep. 673, sustaining the right of a stockholder to sue to restrain a corporation under proper averments from voluntarily paying a tax charged to be unconstitutional on the ground that to permit such a suit did not violate the prohibitions of 3224, Revised Statutes (Comp. Stat. 1913, 5947), against enjoining the enforcement of taxes, we are of opinion that the contention here made that there was no jurisdiction of the cause, since to entertain it would violate the provisions of the Revised Statutes referred to, is without merit. Before coming to dispose of the case on the merits, however, we observe that the defendant corporation having called the attention of the government to the pendency of the cause and the nature of the controversy and its unwillingness to voluntarily refuse to comply with the act assailed, the United States, as amicus curiae, has at bar been heard both orally and by brief for the purpose of sustaining the decree.
Aside from averments as to citizenship and residence, recitals as to the provisions of the statute, and statements as to the business of the corporation, contained in the first ten paragraphs of the bill, advanced to sustain jurisdiction, the bill alleged twenty-one constitutional objections specified in that number of paragraphs or subdivisions. As all the grounds assert a violation of the Constitution, it follows that, in a wide sense, they all charge a repugnancy of the statute to the 16th Amendment, under the more immediate sanction of which the statute was adopted.
The various propositions are so intermingled as to cause it to be difficult to classify them. We are of opinion, however, [240 U.S. 1, 11] that the confusion is not inherent, but rather arises from the conclusion that the 16th Amendment provides for a hitherto unknown power of taxation; that is, a power to levy an income tax which, although direct, should not be subject to the regulation of apportionment applicable to all other direct taxes. And the far-reaching effect of this erroneous assumption will be made clear by generalizing the many contentions advanced in argument to support it, as follows: (a) The Amendment authorizes only a particular character of direct tax without apportionment, and therefore if a tax is levied under its assumed authority which does not partake of the characteristics exacted by the Amendment, it is outside of the Amendment, and is void as a direct tax in the general constitutional sense because not apportioned. (b) As the Amendment authorizes a tax only upon incomes 'from whatever source derived,' the exclusion from taxation of some income of designated persons and classes is not authorized, and hence the constitutionality of the law must be tested by the general provisions of the Constitution as to taxation, and thus again the tax is void for want of apportionment. (c) As the right to tax 'incomes from whatever source derived' for which the Amendment provides must be considered as exacting intrinsic uniformity, therefore no tax comes under the authority of the Amendment not conforming to such standard, and hence all the provisions of the assailed statute must once more be tested solely under the general and pre-existing provisions of the Constitution, causing the statute again to be void in the absence of apportionment. (d) As the power conferred by the Amendment is new and prospective, the attempt in the statute to make its provisions retroactively apply is void because, so far as the retroactive period is concerned, it is governed by the pre-existing constitutional requirement as to apportionment.
But it clearly results that the proposition and the contentions [240 U.S. 1, 12] under it, if acceded to, would cause one provision of the Constitution to destroy another; that is, they would result in bringing the provisions of the Amendment exempting a direct tax from apportionment into irreconcilable conflict with the general requirement that all direct taxes be apportioned. Moreover, the tax authorized by the Amendment, being direct, would not come under the rule of uniformity applicable under the Constitution to other than direct taxes, and thus it would come to pass that the result of the Amendment would be to authorize a particular direct tax not subject either to apportionment or to the rule of geographical uniformity, thus giving power to impose a different tax in one state or states than was levied in another state or states. This result, instead of simplifying the situation and making clear the limitations on the taxing power, which obviously the Amendment must have been intended to accomplish, would create radical and destructive changes in our constitutional system and multiply confusion.
But let us by a demonstration of the error of the fundamental proposition as to the significance of the Amendment dispel the confusion necessarily arising from the arguments deduced from it. Before coming, however, to the text of the Amendment, to the end that its significance may be determined in the light of the previous legislative and judicial history of the subject with which the Amendment is concerned, and with a knowledge of the conditions which presumptively led up to its adoption, and hence of the purpose it was intended to accomplish, we make a brief statement on those subjects.
That the authority conferred upon Congress by 8 of article 1 'to lay and collect taxes, duties, imposts and excises' is exhaustive and embraces every conceivable power of taxation has never been questioned, or, if it has, has been so often authoritatively declared as to render it necessary only to state the doctrine. And it has also never [240 U.S. 1, 13] been questioned from the foundation, without stopping presently to determine under which of the separate headings the power was properly to be classed, that there was authority given, as the part was included in the whole, to lay and collect income taxes. Again, it has never moreover been questioned that the conceded complete and all-embracing taxing power was subject, so far as they were respectively applicable, to limitations resulting from the requirements of art. 1, 8, cl. 1, that 'all duties, imposts and excises shall be uniform throughout the United States,' and to the limitations of art I., 2, cl. 3, that 'direct taxes shall be apportioned among the several states,' and of art 1, 9, cl. 4, that 'no capitation, or other direct, tax shall be laid, unless in proportion to the census or enumeration hereinbefore directed to be taken.' In fact, the two great subdivisions embracing the complete and perfect delegation of the power to tax and the two correlated limitations as to such power were thus aptly stated by Mr. Chief Justice Fuller in Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & T. Co. 157 U. S. supra, at page 557: 'In the matter of taxation, the Constitution recognizes the two great classes of direct and indirect taxes, and lays down two rules by which their imposition must be governed, namely: The rule of apportionment as to direct taxes, and the rule of uniformity as to duties, imposts, and excises.' It is to be observed, however, as long ago pointed out in Veazie Bank v. Fenno, 8 Wall. 533, 541, 19 L. ed. 482, 485, that the requirements of apportionment as to one of the great classes and of uniformity as to the other class were not so much a limitation upon the complete and all-embracing authority to tax, but in their essence were simply regulations concerning the mode in which the plenary power was to be exerted. In the whole history of the government down to the time of the adoption of the 16th Amendment, leaving aside some conjectures expressed of the possibility of a tax lying intermediate between the two great classes and embraced [240 U.S. 1, 14] by neither, no question has been anywhere made as to the correctness of these propositions. At the very beginning, however, there arose differences of opinion concerning the criteria to be applied in determining in which of the two great subdivisions a tax would fall. Without pausing to state at length the basis of these differences and the consequences which arose from them, as the whole subject was elaborately reviewed in Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & T. Co. 157 U.S. 429 , 39 L. ed. 759, 15 Sup. Ct. Rep. 673, 158 U.S. 601 , 39 L. ed. 1108, 15 Sup. Ct. Rep. 912, we make a condensed statement which is in substance taken from what was said in that case. Early the differences were manifested in pressing on the one hand and opposing on the other, the passage of an act levying a tax without apportionment on carriages 'for the conveyance of persons,' and when such a tax was enacted the question of its repugnancy to the Constitution soon came to this court for determination. Hylton v. United States, 3 Dall. 171, 1 L. ed. 556. It was held that the tax came within the class of excises, duties, and imposts, and therefore did not require apportionment, and while this conclusion was agreed to by all the members of the court who took part in the decision of the case, there was not an exact coincidence in the reasoning by which the conclusion was sustained. Without stating the minor differences, it may be said with substantial accuracy that the divergent reasoning was this: On the one hand, that the tax was not in the class of direct taxes requiring apportionment, because it was not levied directly on property because of its ownership, but rather on its use, and was therefore an excise, duty, or impost; and on the other, that in any event the class of direct taxes included only taxes directly levied on real estate because of its ownership. Putting out of view the difference of reasoning which led to the concurrent conclusion in the Hylton Case, it is undoubted that it came to pass in legislative practice that the line of demarcation between the two great classes of direct taxes on the one hand and excises, duties, and [240 U.S. 1, 15] imposts on the other, which was exemplified by the ruling in that case, was accepted and acted upon. In the first place this is shown by the fact that wherever (and there were a number of cases of that kind) a tax was levied directly on real estate or slaves because of ownership, it was treated as coming within the direct class and apportionment was provided for, while no instance of apportionment as to any other kind of tax is afforded. Again the situation is aptly illustrated by the various acts taxing incomes derived from property of every kind and nature which were enacted beginning in 1861, and lasting during what may be termed the Civil War period. It is not disputable that these latter taxing laws were classed under the head of excises, duties, and imposts because it was assumed that they were of that character inasmuch as, although putting a tax burden on income of every kind, including that derived from property real or personal, they were not taxes directly on property because of its ownership. And this practical construction came in theory to be the accepted one, since it was adopted without dissent by the most eminent of the text writers. 1 Kent, Com. 254, 256; 1 Story, Const. 955; Cooley, Const. Lim. 5th ed. *480; Miller, Constitution, 237; Pom. Const. Law, 281; 1 Hare, Const. Law, 249, 250; Burroughs, Taxn. 502; Ordronaux, Constitutional Legislation, 225.
Upon the lapsing of a considerable period after the repeal of the income tax laws referred to, in 1894 [28 Stat. at L. 509, chap. 349], an act was passed laying a tax on incomes from all classes of property and other sources of revenue which was not apportioned, and which therefore was of course assumed to come within the classification of excises, duties, and imposts which were subject to the rule of uniformity, but not to the rule of apportionment. The constitutional validity of this law was challenged on the ground that it did not fall within the class of excises, duties, and imposts, [240 U.S. 1, 16] but was direct in the constitutional sense, and was therefore void for want of apportionment, and that question came to this court and was passed upon in Pollock v. Farmers' Loan & T. Co. 157 U.S. 429 , 39 L. ed. 759, 15 Sup. Ct. Rep. 673, 158 U.S. 601 , 39 L. ed. 1108, 15 Sup. Ct. Rep. 912. The court, fully recognizing in the passage which we have previously quoted the allembracing character of the two great classifications, including, on the one hand, direct taxes subject to apportionment, and on the other, excises, duties, and imposts subject to uniformity, held the law to be unconstitutional in substance for these reasons: Concluding that the classification of direct was adopted for the purpose of rendering it impossible to burden by taxation accumulations of property, real or personal, except subject to the regulation of apportionment, it was held that the duty existed to fix what was a direct tax in the constitutional sense so as to accomplish this purpose contemplated by the Constitution. ( 157 U.S. 581 .) Coming to consider the validity of the tax from this point of view, while not questioning at all that in common understanding it was direct merely on income and only indirect on property, it was held that, considering the substance of things, it was direct on property in a constitutional sense, since to burden an income by a tax was, from the point of substance, to burden the property from which the income was derived, and thus accomplish the very thing which the provision as to apportionment of direct taxes was adopted to prevent. As this conclusion but enforced a regulation as to the mode of exercising power under particular circumstances, it did not in any way dispute the all-embracing taxing authority possessed by Congress, including necessarily therein the power to impose income taxes if only they conformed to the constitutional regulations which were applicable to them. Moreover, in addition, the conclusion reached in the Pollock Case did not in any degree involve holding that income taxes generically and necessarily came within the class [240 U.S. 1, 17] of direct taxes on property, but, on the contrary, recognized the fact that taxation on income was in its nature an excise entitled to be enforced as such unless and until it was concluded that to enforce it would amount to accomplishing the result which the requirement as to apportionment of direct taxation was adopted to prevent, in which case the duty would arise to disregard form and consider substance alone, and hence subject the tax to the regulation as to apportionment which otherwise as an excise would not apply to it. Nothing could serve to make this clearer than to recall that in the Pollock Case, in so far as the law taxed incomes from other classes of property than real estate and invested personal property, that is, income from 'professions, trades, employments, or vocations' ( 158 U.S. 637 ), its validity was recognized; indeed, it was expressly declared that no dispute was made upon that subject, and attention was called to the fact that taxes on such income had been sustained as excise taxes in the past. Id. p. 635. The whole law was, however, declared unconstitutional on the ground that to permit it to thus operate would relieve real estate and invested personal property from taxation and 'would leave the burden of the tax to be borne by professions, trades, employments, or vacations; and in that way what was intended as a tax on capital would remain, in substance, a tax on occupations and labor' ( id. p. 637),-a result which, it was held, could not have been contemplated by Congress.
This is the text of the Amendment:
'The Congress shall have power to lay and collect taxes on incomes, from whatever source derived, without apportionment among the several states, and without regard to any census or enumeration.' It is clear on the face of this text that it does not purport to confer power to levy income taxes in a generic sense,-an authority already possessed and never questioned, [240 U.S. 1, 18] -or to limit and distinguish between one kind of income taxes and another, but that the whole purpose of the Amendment was to relieve all income taxes when imposed from apportionment from a consideration of the source whence the income was derived. Indeed, in the light of the history which we have given and of the decision in the Pollock Case, and the ground upon which the ruling in that case was based, there is no escape from the conclusion that the Amendment was drawn for the purpose of doing away for the future with the principle upon which the Pollock Case was decided; that is, of determining whether a tax on income was direct not by a consideration of the burden placed on the taxed income upon which it directly operated, but by taking into view the burden which resulted on the property from which the income was derived, since in express terms the Amendment provides that income taxes, from whatever source the income may be derived, shall not be subject to the regulation of apportionment. From this in substance it indisputably arises, first, that all the contentions which we have previously noticed concerning the assumed limitations to be implied from the language of the Amendment as to the nature and character of the income taxes which it authorizes find no support in the text and are in irreconcilable conflict with the very purpose which the Amendment was adopted to accomplish. Second, that the contention that the Amendment treats a tax on income as a direct tax although it is relieved from apportionment and is necessarily therefore not subject to the rule of uniformity as such rule only applies to taxes which are not direct, thus destroying the two great classifications which have been recognized and enforced from the beginning, is also wholly without foundation since the command of the Amendment that all income taxes shall not be subject to apportionment by a consideration of the sources from which the taxed income may be derived [240 U.S. 1, 19] forbids the application to such taxes of the rule applied in the Pollock Case by which alone such taxes were removed from the great class of excises, duties, and imposts subject to the rule of uniformity, and were placed under the other or direct class. This must be unless it can be said that although the Constitution, as a result of the Amendment, in express terms excludes the criterion of source of income, that criterion yet remains for the purpose of destroying the classifications of the Constitution by taking an excise out of the class to which it belongs and transferring it to a class in which it cannot be placed consistently with the requirements of the Constitution. Indeed, from another point of view, the Amendment demonstrates that no such purpose was intended, and on the contrary shows that it was drawn with the object of maintaining the limitations of the Constitution and harmonizing their operation. We say this because it is to be observed that although from the date of the Hylton Case, because of statements made in the opinions in that case, it had come to be accepted that direct taxes in the constitutional sense were confined to taxes levied directly on real estate because of its ownership, the Amendment contains nothing repudiation or challenging the ruling in the Pollock Case that the word 'direct' had a broader significance, since it embraced also taxes levied directly on personal property because of its ownership, and therefore the Amendment at least impliedly makes such wider significance a part of the Constitution,-a condition which clearly demonstrates that the purpose was not to change the existing interpretation except to the extent necessary to accomplish the result intended; that is, the prevention of the resort to the sources from which a taxed income was derived in order to cause a direct tax on the income to be a direct tax on the source itself, and thereby to take an income tax out of the class of excises, duties, and imposts, and place it in the class of direct taxes. [240 U.S. 1, 20] We come, then, to ascertain the merits of the many contentions made in the light of the Constitution as it now stands; that is to say, including within its terms the provisions of the 16th Amendment as correctly interpreted. We first dispose of two propositions assailing the validity of the statute on the one hand because of its repugnancy to the Constitution in other respects, and especially because its enactment was not authorized by the 16th Amendment.
The statute was enacted October 3, 1913, and provided for a general yearly income tax from December to December of each year. Exceptionally, however, it fixed a first period embracing only the time from March 1, to December 31, 1913, and this limited retroactivity is assailed as repugnant to the due process clause of the 5th Amendment, and as inconsistent with the 16th Amendment itself. But the date of the retroactivity did not extend beyond the time when the Amendment was operative, and there can be no dispute that there was power by virtue of the Amendment during that period to levy the tax, without apportionment, and so far as the limitations of the Constitution in other respects are concerned, the contention is not open, since in Stockdale v. Atlantic Ins. Co. 20 Wall. 323, 331, 22 L. ed. 348, 351, in sustaining a provision in a prior income tax law which was assailed because of its retroactive character, it was said:
'The right of Congress to have imposed this tax by a new statute, although the measure of it was governed by the income of the past year, cannot be doubted; much less can it be doubted that it could impose such a tax on the income of the current year, though part of that year had elapsed when the statute was passed. The joint resolution of July 4th, 1864 [13 Stat. at L. 417], imposed a tax of 5 per cent upon all income of the previous year, although one tax on it had already been paid, and no one doubted the validity of the tax or attempted to resist it.' [240 U.S. 1, 21] The statute provides that the tax should not apply to enumerated organizations or corporations, such as labor, agricultural or horticultural organizations, mutual savings banks, etc., and the argument is that as the Amendment authorized a tax on incomes 'from whatever source derived,' by implication it excluded the power to make these exemptions. But this is only a form of expressing the erroneous contention as to the meaning of the Amendment, which we have already disposed of. And so far as this alleged illegality is based on other provisions of the Constitution, the contention is also not open, since it was expressly considered and disposed of in Flint v. Stone Tracy Co. 220 U.S. 108, 173 , 55 S. L. ed. 389, 422, 31 Sup. Ct. Rep. 342, Ann. Cas. 1912B, 1312 Without expressly stating all the other contentions, we summarize them to a degree adequate to enable us to typify and dispose of all of them.
1. The statute levies one tax called a normal tax on all incomes of individuals up to $20,000, and from that amount up, by gradations, a progressively increasing tax, called an additional tax, is imposed. No tax, however, is levied upon incomes of unmarried individuals amounting to $3, 000 or less, nor upon incomes of married persons amounting to $4,000 or less. The progressive tax and the exempted amounts, it is said, are based on wealth alone, and the tax is therefore repugnant to the due process clause of the 5th Amendment.
2. The act provides for collecting the tax at the source; that is, makes it the duty of corporations, etc., to retain and pay the sum of the tax on interest due on bonds and mortgages, unless the owner to whom the interest is payable gives a notice that he claims an exemption. This duty cast upon corporations, because of the cost to which they are subjected, is asserted to be repugnant to due process of law as a taking of their property without compensation, and we recapitulate various contentions as to discrimination against corporations and against individuals, [240 U.S. 1, 22] predicated on provisions of the act dealing with the subject.
(a) Corporations indebted upon coupon and registered bonds are discriminated against, since corporations not so indebted are relieved of any labor or expense involved in deducting and paying the taxes of individuals on the income derived from bonds.
(b) Of the class of corporations indebted as above stated, the law further discriminates against those which have assumed the payment of taxes on their bonds, since although some or all of their bondholders may be exempt from taxation, the corporations have no means of ascertaining such fact, and it would therefore result that taxes would often be paid by such corporations when no taxes were owing by the individuals to the government.
(c) The law discriminates against owners of corporate bonds in favor of individuals none of whose income is derived from such property, since bondholders are, during the interval between the deducting and the paying of the tax on their bonds, deprived of the use of the money so withheld.
(d) Again, corporate bondholders are discriminated against because the law does not release them from payment of taxes on their bonds even after the taxes have been deducted by the corporation, and therefore if, after deduction, the corporation should fail, the bondholders would be compelled to pay the tax a second time.
(e) Owners of bonds the taxes on which have been assumed by the corporation are discriminated against because the payment of the taxes by the corporation does not relieve the bondholders of their duty to include the income from such bonds in making a return of all income, the result being a double payment of the taxes, labor and expense in applying for a refund, and a deprivation of the use of the sum of the taxes during the interval which elapses before they are refunded. [240 U.S. 1, 23] 3. The provision limiting the amount of interest paid which may be deducted from gross income of corporations for the purpose of fixing the taxable income to interest on indebtedness not exceeding one half the sum of bonded indebtedness and paidup capital stock is also charged to be wanting in due process because discriminating between different classes of corporations and individuals.
4. It is urged that want of due process results from the provision allowing individuals to deduct from their gross income dividends paid them by corporations whose incomes are taxed, and not giving such right of deduction to corporations.
5. Want of due process is also asserted to result from the fact that the act allows a deduction of $3,000 or $4,000 to those who pay the normal tax, that is, whose incomes are $20,000 or less, and does not allow the deduction to those whose incomes are greater than $20,000; that is, such persons are not allowed, for the purpose of the additional or progressive tax, a second right to deduct the $3,000 or $4,000 which they have already enjoyed. And a further violation of due process is based on the fact that for the purpose of the additional tax no second right to deduct dividends received from corporations is permitted.
6. In various forms of statement, want of due process, it is moreover insisted, arises from the provisions of the act allowing a deduction for the purpose of ascertaining the taxable income of stated amounts, on the ground that the provisions discriminate between married and single people, and discriminate between husbands and wives who are living together and those who are not.
7. Discrimination and want of due process result, it is said, from the fact that the owners of houses in which they live are not compelled to estimate the rental value in making up their incomes, while those who are living in rented houses and pay rent are not allowed, in making up their taxable income, to deduct rent which they have [240 U.S. 1, 24] paid, and that want of due process also results from the fact that although family expenses are not, as a rule, permitted to be deducted from gross, to arrive at taxable, income, farmers are permitted to omit from their income return certain products of the farm which are susceptible of use by them for sustaining their families during the year.
So far as these numerous and minute, not to say in many respects hypercritical, contentions are based upon an assumed violation of the uniformity clause, their want of legal merit is at once apparent, since it is settled that that clause exacts only a geographical uniformity, and there is not a semblance of ground in any of the propositions for assuming that a violation of such uniformity is complained of. Knowlton v. Moore, 178 U.S. 41 , 44 L. ed. 969, 20 Sup. Ct. Rep. 747; Patton v. Brady, 184 U.S. 608, 622 , 46 S. L. ed. 713, 720, 22 Sup. Ct. Rep. 493; Flint v. Stone Tracy Co. 220 U.S. 107, 158 , 55 S. L. ed. 389, 416, 31 Sup. Ct. Rep. 342, Ann. Cas. 1912B, 1312; Billings v. United States, 232 U.S. 261, 282 , 58 S. L. ed. 596, 605, 34 Sup. Ct. Rep. 421.
So far as the due process clause of the 5th Amendment is relied upon, it suffices to say that there is no basis for such reliance, since it is equally well settled that such clause is not a limitation upon the taxing power conferred upon Congress by the Constitution; in other words, that the Constitution does not conflict with itself by conferring, upon the one hand, a taxing power, and taking the same power away, on the other, by the limitations of the due process clause. Treat v. White, 181 U.S. 264 , 45 L. ed. 853, 21 Sup. Ct. Rep. 611; Patton v. Brady, 184 U.S. 608 , 46 L. ed. 713, 22 Sup. Ct. Rep. 493; McCray v. United States, 195 U.S. 27, 61 , 49 S. L. ed. 78, 97, 24 Sup. Ct. Rep. 769, 1 Ann. Cas. 561; Flint v. Stone Tracy Co. 220 U.S. 107, 158 , 55 S. L. ed. 389, 416, 31 Sup. Ct. Rep. 342, Ann. Cas. 1912B, 1312; Billings v. United States, 232 U.S. 261, 282 , 58 S. L. ed. 596, 605, 34 Sup. Ct. Rep. 421. And no change in the situation here would arise even if it be conceded, as we think it must be, that this doctrine would have no application in a case where, although there was a seeming exercise of the taxing power, the act complained of was so arbitrary as to constrain to the conclusion that it was not the exertion of taxation, but a confiscation of property; that is, a taking [240 U.S. 1, 25] of the same in violation of the 5th Amendment; or, what is equivalent thereto, was so wanting in basis for classification as to produce such a gross and patent inequality as to inevitably lead to the same conclusion. We say this because none of the propositions relied upon in the remotest degree present such questions. It is true that it is elaborately insisted that although there be no express constitutional provision prohibiting it, the progressive feature of the tax causes it to transcend the conception of all taxation and to be a mere arbitrary abuse of power which must be treated as wanting in due process. But the proposition disregards the fact that in the very early history of the government a progressive tax was imposed by Congress, and that such authority was exerted in some, if not all, of the various income taxes enacted prior to 1894 to which we have previously adverted. And over and above all this the contention but disregards the further fact that its absolute want of foundation in reason was plainly pointed out in Knowlton v. Moore, 178 U.S. 41 , 44 L. ed. 969, 20 Sup. Ct. Rep. 747, and the right to urge it was necessarily foreclosed by the ruling in that case made. In this situation it is, of course, superfluous to say that arguments as to the expediency of levying such taxes, or of the economic mistake or wrong involved in their imposition, are beyond judicial cognizance. Besides this demonstration of the want of merit in the contention based upon the progressive feature of the tax, the error in the others is equally well established either by prior decisions or by the adequate bases for classification which are apparent on the face of the assailed provisions; that is, the distinction between individuals and corporations, the difference between various kinds of corporations, etc., etc. Ibid.; Flint v. Stone Tracy Co. 220 U.S. 107, 158 , 55 S. L. ed. 389, 416, 31 Sup. Ct. Rep. 342, Ann. Cas. 1912B, 1312; Billings v. United States, 232 U.S. 261, 282 , 58 S. L. ed. 596, 605, 34 Sup. Ct. Rep. 421; First Nat. Bank v. Kentucky, 9 Wall. 353, 19 L. ed. 701; National Safe Deposit Co. v. Stead, 232 U.S. 58, 70 , 58 S. L. ed. 504, 510, 34 Sup. Ct. Rep. 209. In fact, comprehensively surveying all the contentions [240 U.S. 1, 26] relied upon, aside from the erroneous construction of the Amendment which we have previously disposed of, we cannot escape the conclusion that they all rest upon the mistaken theory that although there be differences between the subjects taxed, to differently tax them transcends the limit of taxation and amounts to a want of due process, and that where a tax levied is believed by one who resists its enforcement to be wanting in wisdom and to operate injustice, from that fact in the nature of things there arises a want of due process of law and a resulting authority in the judiciary to exceed its powers and correct what is assumed to be mistaken or unwise exertions by the legislative authority of its lawful powers, even although there be no semblance of warrant in the Constitution for so doing.
We have not referred to a contention that because certain administrative powers to enforce the act were conferred by the statute upon the Secretary of the Treasury, therefore it was void as unwarrantedly delegating legislative authority, because we think to state the proposition is to answer it. Marshall Field & Co. v. Clark, 143 U.S. 649 , 36 L. ed. 294, 12 Sup. Ct. Rep. 495; Buttfield v. Stranahan, 192 U.S. 470, 496 , 48 S. L. ed. 525, 535, 24 Sup. Ct. Rep. 349; Oceanic Steam Nav. Co. v. Stranahan, 214 U.S. 320 , 53 L. ed. 1013, 29 Sup. Ct. Rep. 671.
AFFIRMED.
Mr. Justice McReynolds took no part in the consideration and decision of this case.
Here is a new series by the author that wrote Basilisk. The title is "The Yagyu Ninja Scrolls Revenge of the Hori Clan". Segawa has a very distinctive art style and enjoys drawing wildly dramatic faces for the bad guys. The story lines are done by Yamada and have strong political undertones. Over all, it makes for an enjoyable read. The second book I picked up today in Junk, and no I don't mean its bad. That's the title. I finally found a copy of the second book in the series at Borders in Augusta. It's up to volume five, but for some reason the second book never showed up anywhere. I found four and five before I ever even laid eyes on a copy of three and two was no where to be seen, so with two in my hands I can finally resume this series. P.S. sorry it was the only copy of two at borders so good luck finding your own.
Junk -Record of the Last Hero- volume 2
The Yagyu Ninja Scrolls - Revenge of the Hori Clan volume 1 (long name :-)
A most beautiful love story comes to an end. This is the final volume of Ai Yori Aoshi. Aoi and Kaoru have gone through a lot to be together and it finally paid off. Even the best laid plans of his half brother fell apart in the end. I'll leave it at that, I don't want to spoil the ending (Blush :-). Witchblade Takeru is also ending, but only after 2 volumes. Boo Hoo :-( A very cool read, Different plot than the anime so no worries about spoiling the fun by reading or watching either one first. You can also get your quarterly dose of Blame. It is a very fast read and a long wait in between but still cool. After Looonnnggg years, Dark Horse <- (%$!#^!&^) finally released Human Error Processor. Took them long enough, look at when he wrote it. I read this book years ago online, same with GITS and GITS MMI. There are several other volumes that he wrote that I've seen but can't find translations of. Will they ever get off there buts and do it? Probably not any time soon. Next, and yes it's from the same FUBAR company, Oh My Goddess volume 27. And I know you would be disappointed if it was otherwise. That's right, It's TWO months late AGAIN. it was published in September, finally showed up in November. There is an advertisement for an Oh My Goddess novel in volume 27. Don't hold your breath. I find it funny that Viz can publish Naruto at the rate of THREE volumes per month!!! but DH can't even make the publication dates listed in there books. The higher ups at DH need to take a tour of Viz, maybe they can learn what the hell they are doing wrong. The last series I'll touch on is a new one by Peach-Pit (DearS, Rozen Maiden, Shugo Chara!). The name is Zombie-Loan and the title is fitting. Never thought of the grim reaper as a shrewd business man but it's an interesting twist.
Ai Yori Aoshi volume 17* (Final Volume)
Blame! volume 10
Eden volume 7-8
Eureka Seven volume 6
Ghost in the Shell Human Error Processor
Oh My Goddess! volume 27
Tsubasa volume 15
Witchblade Takeru volume 2* (Final Volume)
Zombie-Loan volume 1
Life is getting hectic lately so I have not had time to read much manga. I have been catching up on my scifi novels that pile up almost just as fast as the manga does so no reviews today. Also catching up on MASSIVE anime backlog that also builds up at a rapid pace. currently watching Whichblade, I've gotten up to episode 20 so far. Good series. Till next time, Later.
Claymore volumes 4-9
King of Thorn volume 2
Missile Happy volume 1
My-HiME volume 4
The Wallflower volume 13
I started reading a new series the other week. Well it's not new, the US release started in April of 06 but it's a new one to me. It instantly joined the ranks of Battle Angel, Birth, Blame, Blood Sucker, Eden, GITS, Hellsing, Kamiyadori, and Testarotha as one of my favorites in the rare genre the ultra violent. Some people thing that titles like these are too gruesome and disturbing, they are right of course but it makes you appreciate how calm and relatively peaceful life is and that can be a good thing. You think your life is bad, read Birth (Arm of Kannon). You WILL have a new appreciation for how much worse your life could actually be.
Claymore volume 4 and 5 (the rest are still on order.)
Hmmm... Gender altering video games, crack pot doctors who ruin your life by accidentally replacing your face with a girls, and a guy obsessed with of all things... strawberry panties. interesting mix this time.
Gacha Gacha The Next Revolution volume 4
Pretty Face volume 2
Strawberry 100% volume 2
Making up for lost time, I'm trying to catch up with all the new stuff comming out lately. and to that end, here is the latest.
.hack//Another Birth novel 4
Boys Be volume 14
Chibi Vampire Novel volume 3
Claymore volume 3
Full Metal Alchemist volume 14
Gunsmith Cats Burst volume 2
Guru Guru Pon-chan volume 8 and 9 (final volume)
Hibiki's Magic volume 2
Translucent volume 1
It's 10:30 at night and I'm back from Virginia. 13 hours of driving later and I'm beat, but that's OK. It's my Sweety's birthday today and she bought me presents. SWEET!!! I got her flowers, a card, a balloon, and something else that's a surprise. One of the original presents I wanted to get her did not pan out so I had to go with my second choice and just for good measure the third choice as well. It had to be special to make up for being late but it could not be helped. So what did she get me?
Le Chevalier d'Eon volume 2 AND!!!!!!!!!
xxxHOLiC volume 10 HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY !!!
As for her gift, I won't be able to pick it up until tomorrow because of work but hopefully she'll still like it all the same. So if you read this darling, your gift is "FILED" away in a safe place. Hint! Hint!
I'm back from Anime Weekend Atlanta 13 with lots of goodies and lots and lots of manga. The only thing I didn't get at the con was much sleep which I am about remedy right now. I have to drive to Richmond Virginia and back tomorrow (12 hours round trip) so I'm going to keep this short. I had a blast for the most part and hope to be back next year. this is my 4th year at AWA, definitely worth it if you're in the area or even if you're not in the area.
Avril Lavigne's Make 5 Wishes volume 2
Battle Angel Alita Last Order volume 7 through 10 "Japanese"
Claymore volume 1 and 2
Cool Devices "Lover Dolls"
Enchanter volume 5
Fruits Basket Fan Book - Cat -
Full Metal Panic! Novel volume 1
Grenadier volume 4
Hanaukyo Maid Team volume 2 and 3
Pastel volume 8
RG Veda volume 9 and 10 (Final Volume)
Shugo Chara! volume 2
Tenjho Tenge volume 15
The Good Witch of the West volume 4
Threads "A Red String Artbook"
Tsukuyomi Moon Phase volume 7 and 8
Battle Angel Alita Last Order volume 9 "Angel's Duty"
Battle Club volume 5
Excel Saga Volume 16
Girls Bravo volume 9
Gunslinger Girl volume 4 and 5
Hana-Kimi volume 19
I HATE YOU more than anyone! volume 1
Life volume 6
Negima! volume 15
Neon Genesis Evangelion Angelic Days volume 6 (Final Volume)
Princess Resurection volume 2
Suzuka volume 5
The Devil Does Exist volume 10 and 11 (Final Volume)
Vampire Hunder D Novel volume 8
I think this is the third update in the last week. Lots of good stuff coming out recently. I received a package in the mail, Yeah the books I bought up in DC are finally on the shelf along with some extras (GTO 1-3 and Fushigi Yugi 1-6) Thanks Dale.
GTO volumes 1-3 (A gift from a friend)
Hayate the Combat Butler volume 4
Hellsing volume 8
Magical x Miracle volume 5
Someday's Dreamers Spellbound volume 3
Trinity Blood volume 3
I just finished reading chapter 28 of Kodomo no Jikan. It's a well written story about a girl trying to cope with every day life in grade school. A lot of the topics addressed in the series might seem to be a little too adult but the truth is that children these days are maturing at an accelerated rate. The main cause of this is their unrestricted access to pop culture, the infinite sea of information available to them, and media saturation by commercial broadcasting. The other main problem is a lack of parental guidance; not parental restriction mind you, that's even worse. It's akin to not teaching a child about wildlife and then wondering with disbelief why the child stuck their arm in a lion's mouth and got it bitten off. Ignorance is bliss, but it is also death in disguise. This series is a in depth look at what children are faced with today, It is a shame that Seven Seas pulled the publication of this book after buying the rights to it. I think there are a lot of people that really need to read it, unfortunately they are the ones who would see it not hit the shelves of book stores. My advice, find a copy on line and read it. Go past the superficial and read between the lines to what the author (which happens to be a woman) is trying to show. A big thanks to SaHa for translating this to English so the rest of us can learn from this story. 30 chapters have been published so far, 1-28 and 2 preleminary chapters.
I am currently reading Pretty Face. When I first looked at the back of the book to read the premise for the series, I thought "oh another take on Kashimashi" but not quite. this gender bender is only superficial and there are a lot more complex issues going on under the cover of this book than you might guess. it's definitely worth your time.
Speaking of Kashimashi, volume 3 is out and looks to be just as hilarious as its predecessors.
Kamiyadori..... This series by the same author that wrote Testarotho is a serious critique of the dangers of modern democratic bureaucracy and the struggle of mid and lower level employees in that system to fight the inherent corruption of the system and the unfathomable pet projects of the upper echelons. All the while trying not to get killed by the enemies that wish to overthrow the government and by other factions in your own government with there own agendas. This series is a lot more true to life than most people would care to believe.
You thought your in-laws and relatives were bad, you might reconsider after reading the fourth volume of Chibi Vampire. Karen's grandmother is back from the basement. Gee, how did all those boulders get piled up on your coffin. The story of the family's move to Japan is finally explained along with the fate of all of karen's relatives.
Blame! volume 9
Chibi Vampire volume 5
Fruits Basket volume 17
Kamiyadori volume 3
Kashimashi volume 3
Pretty Face volume 1
I had to do something yesterday that I rarely do, return some books to the store. I finally got around to reading Witch Blade the other day and found that somebody did a crappy job editing the book. The comic was originally drawn in color and the editions that I had were converted to black and white. there is also a compendium that is in color which I may get later. It's 50 or 60 bucks so you can see why I opted for the monochrome. The problem is that when they converted it from color to grey scale images, there were a lot of dialog bubbles that were a very light color and the text on top was reversed out in white. In color it works but when you convert a very light yellow the gray, it comes out only one or two percent gray. If you know anything about printing you know that a printing press can't print one and two percent screens very well, if at all. It bleeds in and disappears and you are left with white. so most of the book is filled with dialog bubbles that graduate from a light gray to white back to light gray with white text. the center of the bubble is completely gone, unreadable.
Example:
Mark f..........lip's dog
for sev..........rs today
Who did what to who? You don't know. So if your going to read this story save your self the headache and save your money up and buy it in color other wise don't waste your time.
P.S.
To the people who published and printed this book: You are a disgrace to the art of printing, What are you blind? I've worked in printing for a lot of years and seen my share of minor and major blunders but this takes the cake. Your typesetting department, graphic artists, proof readers, plate room operators, The press operators, bindery operators, did no one notice all the missing text. The publishing house, did you not ask for a proof of the book before printing it or a finished sample before shipping it out? Let me guess You assumed that because it looked good when you printed it the first time in color that nothing would change. Instead of outputting the files in CMYK separations, you just switched to monochrome. BAKA!!!
My-HiME volume 3
Pastel volume 7
School Rumble volume 6
Strawberry 100% volume 1
Strawberry Marshmallow volume 4
Crossroad volume 7 (final Volume)
Gacha Gacha the Next Revolution volume 3
Ouran High School Host Club volume 9
R.O.D. Read or Dream volume 4
The Good Witch of the West volume 3
The Tarot Cafe volume 5 (Yay, Finally!!! It's been a year and a half since volume 4)
The Wallflower volume 12
I am writing this on an impromptu day off, I got up at 6:00 a.m. yesterday and did not get home till 1:00 this morning. It was a long 5 hour drive home last night from Chapel Hill and the only thing that kept me going and awake was talking on the cell with Rhythwyn as I drove. Thanks! So anyway, when I woke up this morning after not enough sleep I felt like a walking corpse so Rhythwyn suggested that I use one of my personal days that I was going to use next week and stay home with her and get some rest. In my current mental condition, I couldn't think of any reasoning against it. So I called my dispatcher, He said there was nothing on the schedule for today so I cashed in my personal day, snuggled up to my sweety, and went back to sleep.
I had some weird dream where I decided to go visit Rhythwyn while she was teaching. I found myself outside of this huge glass building that stretched on for miles. I knew in the dream that this was the school but had no idea where in the building her class was. I walked for what seemed like a long time through the parking lot to the back of the building till I finally found a door. Inside there where three floors lots of stairs and open areas where you could see all the way up to the different levels and through the roof that was also glass. I decided to go to the second floor and start my search there. There were not too may people wandering the halls so I kept going towards the front in search of someone I could ask for directions. I finally found someone who knew where her class was. She was on the first floor near the front of the school.
When I finally arrived, I slipped into the classroom and made my way to the back. When I had settled in, I realized she was teaching psychology instead of public speaking. The classroom was divided in the back by a concrete wall with the front open in the shape of a "C". All the guys were on one side of the wall and all the girls were on the other side with the teacher's desk in the middle so she could see both sides. The wall had a bunch of holes in it about the size of a baseball that looked like they had been made by during a fire fight by two armies. She had both sides in a debate on the difference in perception and reasoning between men and women; it was quite heated at times and I started to get an idea as to how the holes got in the wall. During the debate, she passed out sheets to the class with a partially completed drawing of some machine and ask the class if the could deduce what the whole device looked like. The girls were of the opinion that it was some kitchen appliance while the the guys were leaning towards an engine part. I recognized the parts schematic from one of my manuals. I figured she must have copied it, had fun with some whiteout and then made copies. The class ended with Rhythwyn giving some cheesy sales pitch and handing out Wachovia bank account applications so that everyone could sign up for one. I don't know where that part came from. Anyway after everyone had left She packed up and we left the classroom together and went out into the parking lot to find the car. I woke up while we were walking.
Ai Yori Aoshi volume 16
Boys Be volume 12
Crossroad volume 06
Death Note volume 12
Eureka Seven volume 05
Neon Genesis Evangelion Angelic Days volume 05
School Rumble volume 05
Tenjho Tenge volume 14
Tsubasa volume 13
Back stabbing, deceit, corruption, petty disputes, and jealousy; no I'm not talking about work. Though it does fit the theme. It's volume 16 of Faeries' Landing. If that's too much angst and drama for your taste, then for you ladies Negi goes bishonen and sweeps his students off their feet in this 14th installment of Negima!
Air Gear volume 01
Air Gear volume 02
Air Gear volume 03
Air Gear volume 04
Basilisk volume 05
Galaxy Angel II volume 02
Girls Bravo volume 08
Hayate the Combat Butler volume 03
Hoshin Engi volume 01
Lunar Legend Tsukihime volume 04
Megatokyo volume 05
Nana volume 06
Princess Resurection volume 01
Seikai Crest of the Stars volume 02 "A Modest War" Novel
Suzuka volume 04
Vampire Hunter D Novel 07 "Mysterious Journey to the North Sea 1"
Welcome to the N.H.K. volume 03
Witchblade volume 01
Witchblade volume 02
Yurara volume 01
Enchanter volume 4
Gunsmith Cats Burst volume 1
Rose Hip Zero volume 2
Shrine of the Morning Mist volume 4
Stray Little Devil volume 4
What do pop singers, a blood giving vamp, a death dealing prep student, a one armed one legged boy, and a hopelessly in love geek have to do with each other? Absolutely nothing unless you read manga.
Avril Lavigne's Make 5 Wishes volume 1
(yeah, that Avril Lavigne, there can't be too many people with that name)
Chibi Vampire The Novel volume 2
Death Note volume 11
Full Metal Alchemist volume 13
Train Man The Novel
(Yes, another one and it's all in chat room language :-)
I know I promised myself that I would not start too many new manga series but when I saw the title I had to get it. "Murder Princess", such a diametrically opposed name. A beautiful princess is running for her life, Her father has just been killed in a coup by a whacked out mad scientist with one really bad hairdo. She trips over a cliff and tumbles toward her death only to crash head first into the head of a bounty hunter. Thanks to some freak cosmic fluke they switch souls. Now the body of the beautiful princess is being inhabited by the soul of a blood thirsty, rowdy, war monger and vice versa. Is this a bad thing? Not for the parties involved, the princess Alita is now safe in a body none of her would be killers recognize and the human killing machine Falis gets all the fun she can stand. Everyone is happy except Alita's grandfather and... oh yeah, all the people Falis killed. You can't make everyone happy.
After School Nightmare volume 3
Blame! volume 8
Chibi Vampire volume 4
Destiny's Hand volume 1
Murder Princess volume 1 (Author of Comic Party)
Oh My Goddess volume 26
Scrapped Princess Novel 2 "Song of the Forgiven"
Scrapped Princess Novel 3 "Requiem for the Infidels"
It's... a... beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day in the neighborhood, won't you....... Sorry, it's that kind of day. The sun is shining, the birds are singing, the grass is green. I love spring! I love summer more, but spring is great too. It just makes you want to go outside and have fun. If it's not so sunny where you are but possibly rainy, mucky, and just all around dreary; here are a few good titles to make you forget the weather.
Densha Otoko volume 3: final volume
Full Metal Alchemist volume 12
Junk -Record of the Last Hero- volume 1
Kashimashi ~Girl Meets Girl~ volume 2
Magical x Miracle volume 4
Ninin Ga Shinobuden volume 2
Tsukuyomi Moon Phase volume 6
Wish you were here, and maybe you are.
My Fiance and I started a impromptu tradition of giving each other Easter baskets each year. So what do you stuff an Easter basket with for an otaku? Large quantities of chocolate, some cute Hello Kitty figurine Easter eggs, and the most important ingredient some manga.
Read or Dream volume 3
Trinity Blood Novel Rage Against the Moons volume 1: From the Empire
(now that's a mouthful)
Yeah!!! Volume 16 of fruits basket is out, GRRRRRRRR!!! I saw volume 21 on the shelf in France along with tons of others that were 3, 5, 8, 10+ volumes ahead of the US releases. WTF! (Why The French) The manga section at Virgin was MASSIVE! The only down side, I don't read a lick of French. (Merlin sobs uncontrollably)
Battle Vixens volume 11
Because I'm the Goddess volume 3
Fruits Basket volume 16
Kamikadori volume 2
Oh My Goddess volume 25 (finally, it was published in December)
Please Teacher Fanbook
The Young Magician volume 7
Yubisaki Milk Tea volume 4
I'm back from over the big pond. One of the first things I did after getting back was hit the book store and see what had come out. There is quite a list, so I didn't get all of it right away. I prioritized by which series were my favorites.
-What I got:
Battle Club volume 4
Genshiken volume 8
Life volume 4
Pastel volume 6
Shugo Chara! volume 1
Strawberry Marshmallow volume 3
Sweety volume 2
Tenshi Ja Nai volume 6
Tomb Raider volume 1
Trinity Blood volume 2
-What I left on hold for another day:
Because I'm the Goddess 03
Crossroad 06
Eureka Seven 04
Full Metal Alchemist 12
Gacha Gacha the Next Revolution 02
Gatcha Gacha 04
Gentleman's Alliance 01
Girls Bravo 07
Junk: record of the last hero 01
Kedamono Damono 01
Magical x Miracle 04
Neon Genesis Angelic Days 04
Read or Dream 03
Rose Hip Zero 01
Rose Hip Zero 02
School Rumble 05
The Devil Does Exist 09
The Law of Ueki 05
The Wallflower 11
Threads of Time 09
Tomb Raider 02
Trinity Blood rage against the moons
Tsukuyomi Moonphase 06
-What I had to order:
After School Nightmare 03
Angel Dust Neo
Boys Be 12
Eden: It's an Endless World 06
Gals 09
Gunsmith Cats 01
Her Majesty's Dog 06
Lunar Legend Tsukihime 04
Maburaho 02
Oh my Goddess 25
Robot 03
Stray Little Devil 03
Stray Little Devil 04
The Young Magician 07
Vacation is one of those misleading words. The average vacation usually requires extensive planing, endless headaches with the airlines, waiting in long lines, lost reservations, lost luggage, running at full speed trying to make connections in travel, running around even more trying to do all the things you planed and realizing there is not enough time, more time waiting in even longer lines and an endless progression of other unforeseen problems. In the end by the time you get back from "relaxing", you're even more tired and worn out than when you started. So why do we do this to ourselves, because it's "fun". Personally I think all humans are a bunch of sick masochist. Who else would put themselves through that kind of torture. Now there is one redeeming point to all this and it has to do with the way the brain remembers things. The human brain tends over time to romanticize things. It blocks out bad memories and embellish the good ones.
Example:
-What actually happened:
Taking a cruse to the islands and getting stuck in the middle of a class five hurricane huddled in a run down hut all night praying to all mighty God for your salvation.
-What you remember thirty years later:
Staying in this cute rustic cottage that was right on the beach (well before the storm anyway), laying together on the couch all night (it was the only thing that was buoyant), Rapped in each others arms (terrified out of our minds), it was so perfect we thought we were in heaven (The perfect storm was about to send us to heaven), in the morning we went out on the porch (it was all that was left) and watched the most beautiful sunrise we had ever seen (thankful to still be alive).
Just some goodies I picked up in Paris and London
Gunnm Last Order volume 1 in French
Fruits Basket volume 1 in French
Love Hina volume 1 in French
Step Up Love Story volume 18 in french (Author of Psychic Academy)
Moon Boy volume 2 in English
Moon Boy volume 3 in English
This will be my last post for a few weeks. My Fiance and I are taking a jaunt over to Europe for a much needed vacation. Ta ta, we're off to have tea, watch Patrick Stuart perform the Tempest, watch Danial Radcliffe (aka Harry Potter) in Equus, and otherwise have a jolly good time.
Basilisk volume 4
Disgaea 2 volume 1
Kamiyadori 1
My-HiME volume 2
Tenjho Tenge volume 12
It's finally warming up, Yipy! This is my favorite time of the year next to summer. Hopefully the first three titles will get your blood boiling with action and the last two will warm your heart with sappy romantic goodness. I'm off to England to have a spot of tea, tata.
Death Note volume 10
Negima! volume 13
Q-Ko-Chan volume 2
Red String volume 1
Suzuka volume 3
Happy Valentines Day to everyone!
Category: Freaks Volume 3
Galaxy Angel II
Hana-Kimi Volume 16
Her Majesty's Dog Volume 5
Hot Himmick S Novel
Inubaka Volume 1
One of my favorite artist, Clamp is starting to slow down. They have several series that are in the middle or close to the end that have just stopped. The reason being to my knowledge is that one of the main artist is developing bad arthritis and can't draw very much any more. But instead of killing the group as a whole, they have continued drawing separately and are still publishing. Here are a few of their separate works, both listed here are finished.*
Mouryou Kiden volumes 2 and 3 (Finished)*
Ninin Ga Shinobuden volume 1
The Drifting Classroom volume 1
Zyword (well there's only one volume)*
As I slowly work through book after book (no not reading) scanning the covers for an idea I had to make a visual database of my library that I could store in my I-Pod video, several things happened. The first is that I realized it is going to take much longer than I had hoped. There are two reasons. The first is the volume of material to be scanned, cleaned, and cropped in Photoshop vs the small amount of free time I have. The second is that as I scan each volume, I find myself remembering what happened in each book or... not remembering and thumbing through it to refresh my memory. The idea was to create a database that I could easily update and carry. As of now, I have been reliant on either my memory, a printed list, or my laptop. At first, my memory served me well enough and still does... well, most of the time, but as I added more and more new series to my reading list, it has become increasingly harder to keep up with what I have and what is new. The second worked well enough for a time when I only read thirty or forty different series. Then I met a girl named Marcy (The resident manga guru at the local waldens). Thanks to her that number soared to around a hundred different series in the span of a few months. After buying several books that I already owned because I had forgotten to print out an updated list, I realized I needed a better way of keeping track of things. I went out and got a two meg Palm Pilot Zire and created a simple title list that I could edit on the fly.
Manga A-M 5-10-05
.hack//AI buster 1-2
.hack//Legend of the Twilight 1-2
Abenobashi 1-2
Absolute Boyfriend 1
A.l. Love You 1-5
Ai Yori Aoshi 1-9...........etc.
This worked great until one day while adding a new series, my PDA informed me that I had reached the maximum character limit for a single document. Not a problem, I split the list into two, A-M and N-Z. shortly there after, it informed me that it at last had reached its maximum storage limit, CRAP! and so using my newly acquired laptop I started work on a more comprehensive database. At first it was just the series name and what volume it was up to, then I decided that having the ISBN would be handy seeing as that some book stores have strange ways of abbreviating titles or misspelling them. With an ISBN there is no mistake. That meant typing an an entry for each volume, URGHHHH. Then I had the bright idea that having the author and artist name would be nice so I could cross reference what books were by the same person and be able to keep up with any new books by manga-ka that I liked. Then came the publisher because while some release books on or before the advertised date like Tokyopop, others are not so reliable like Dark Horse and Broccoli which are consistently late by weeks and sometimes months. Next came price so that I would know how much to budget each month, and last and most recently was the release date so I could keep track of previous volumes and at a glance know roughly when the next volume would be coming out. All that being said, that brings me to my current state which still has its problems. The third, that being my laptop is not always on me or is too bulky to be convenient. Hence the idea of a cover art picture gallery that I could easily store on my I-Pod and scroll through quickly. The second thing I found is that I'm missing some books. I somehow missed getting the 17th volume of Angel Sanctuary and the 14th volume of Cheeky Angel. I also noticed that I'm missing the third volume of Gacha Gacha but I know I bought that one, I just somehow misplaced it while moving but have yet to find it. So that is where I stand at the moment; typing, scanning, and reading my life away. So in that spirit, here are just a few more to catalog, scan, and hopefully get a chance to read.
.hack//Another Birth volume 3 Outbreak
Absolute Boyfriend volume 3
Angel Sanctuary volume 18
Blame! volume 7
D.Gray-Man volume 4
Enchanter volume 3
Faeries' Landing volume 15
Hayate the Combat Butler volume 2
Nana volume 5
Sensual Phrase volume 18 (Final Volume)
The Good Witch of the West volume 2
The Law of Ueki volume 4
Train_Man Densha Otoko volume 3 (Final Volume)
Trigun Maximum volume 11
God, I'm such a masochist! Oh well.
The first month of the new year has come and gone but here are some cool releases that will make it memorable.
Ai Yori Aoshi volume 15
Chibi Vampire the novel volume 1
Densha Otoko volume 2
Guru Guru Pon-Chan volume 7
Kamichama Karin volume 6
Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne volume 7
Q-Ko-Chan volume 1
Tusbasa volume 12
Unbalance Unbalance volume 1
Welcome to the NHK volume 2
P.S.
I'm working on completing the database under "Merlin's Library". Everything is complete except the release dates which I am about half way done with. I am also in the process of scanning the cover art of my entire collection (all 1100+ titles). that will be posted and linked when it is finished in it's entirety or when my scanner breaks or melts down.
P.S.2
With the addition of one of the titles listed above (Q-Ko-Chan), There is now a manga starting with each letter in the alphabet in my library except one. I'll give you a hint, it was done by one of the former members of Clamp, It just came out recently, and I have it on order. Well the last one doesn't help, sorry.
It's always a sad day when a book store closes and that day is rapidly approaching. There are six major book stores in the area,. Three of them are waldens, but that is about to change. In four days time, one of them is going to be closing its doors for the last time. It's not the one I frequent the most but I still give it my patronage from time to time when I'm in that area of town. I swung by yesterday to see how they were doing and to see what was left. they were SWAMPED! and for good reason. Everything in the store was 40% off or more. I soon forgot my melancholy and dove into the manga section to see what I could find that I didn't have. Sure enough, I found a few.
Picked up a new series, Basilisk vols 1,2, and 3 which was down to eight an some change from fourteen per vol.
Also on the shelf was the 2nd and 3rd volume of Eureka Seven.
and just because, I picked up a negima wall scroll, see above.
P.S. - last weeks slim pickings:
Oh My Goddess! volume 24. This series is so rare it's sad. Dark Horse in their infinite stupidity only produces a very few copies of their books. HELLO, these are MASS market publications, not collectors items. PRINT MORE COPIES!!! If you print them, they will sell. I was lucky and got there right as they were unboxing the shipment and got the only copy, it never even made it to the shelf. My work takes me all over the state and into the surrounding states so I can say truthfully that it was the only copy within 100 miles, I checked.
I got a much anticipated phone call yesterday. A bunch of books I'd ordered came in. As the guy from Waldens read off the list, I got happier and happier as he went on. I Love Waldens, they can order just about anything and have it sent to the store. You don't even have to buy it once it comes in if you change your mind (end shameless plug). So here they are some semblance of order:
Angel Sanctuary 16
Battle Club 3
Battle Vivens 10
Densha Otoko 1
Eden 4
Eden 5
Gals! 8
Hana-Kimi 15
Hibiki's Magic 1
Kamikaze Kaito Jeanne 6
Kare Kano 21
Life 3
Remote 10
RG Veda 8
Rozen Maiden 3
Shine of the Morning Mist 3
Tenjho Tenge 11
The Devil Does Exist 8
The Young Magician 6
Train_Man 2
Til next time.
Happy new year to everyone. I'm always pretty sure what it means when my lady gets back from work and the first thing she says is "Do you love me?" It usually means she bought me something, and sure enough I now have volume 16 of Cheeky Angel. :-)
This is an interesting story of a boy who wants to be a manly man, but instead gets turned into a girly girl by a malevolent jinn and spends the rest of his/her life trying to track it down and make it change him back.
