A Surprise Visit and an Anime Trio

On her way to Anime North last May, the beautiful Miss Haruhi Suzimaya stopped in for a brief visit. She had arranged to meet friends from all over at the convention, so she didn't have time for more than a quick photo in the garden before her chauffeur whisked her off into the city.

You should check out her series, The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzimaya, here:

but be warned that since this is technically Shounen, there is the occasional juvenile reference to breasts. Other than that, funny and totally fascinating.

For charm and innocence, I love Ikoku Meiro no Croisee. Absolutely beautiful and family friendly.

You can watch the series here. New episodes come out on Mondays.

Finally, we have Puella Magi Madoka Magica, an extremely dark Sailor Moon-type show. Nobody combines cute and dark quite like the Japanese.

The episodes are available here.

Have fun!

Nee Shitteru? (Revised)

Oooo, such an intersection of weird and cute, no? You really should check out the many other Mameshiba on YouTube. And how about these guys:

After a long, hard day battling the Imperfect Subjunctive and dividing Polynomials, a homeschooled girl's gotta relax, right?

Like all good international adoptive parents, Mr. D*S and I tried our best to encourage in Panda an interest and pride in her Chinese heritage. We joined the local Families with Children from China group and attended festivals and culture camp. The New Year’s Dragon dance terrified her, and she was relieved when a peanut allergy finally put an end to that. She bravely endured seven years of Mandarin lessons but plainly detested it. Like most kids, Panda was more interested in developing the culture of Panda. So her recent enthusiasm for all things Asian has come as a delightful surprise, even if it is mostly pop culture. She’ll find her own Panda way, I’m sure.