Welcome to a world in which leaders are stripping you of your right to think freely. Books are being pulled from public and school library shelves and are being kept out of bookstores or off book-reading hardware because of “inappropriate” content.

Governments, school administrations, misguided politicians and community and corporate leaders, seeking to “protect” people from ideas that make them uncomfortable are banning books. Yes, still. Now. Today.

This week is Banned Books Week. The people on the front line fighting war to maintain your freedom to read whatever you want are Librarians.

The American Library Association has a list of Graphic Novels that are banned and/or challenged repeatedly. You’ll see that most are GNs for adults that are misguidedly assumed to be for children, but in many cases are objected to simply because they portray sex or death at all – heaven help us all if it’s gay sex.

Librarians are fighting in many ways to make sure you can make your own decisions and maintain your privacy.

In Honor of Banned Books Week and even more so, in honor of Librarians, here are some manga and anime “Armed Librarians.”

Library Wars is a story about a young woman who joins the Librarian military force to fight government censorship. The version of this story published in English is as much romance as it is military escapades, but the story could be real. And if Librarians ever started a military force to protect freedom to read, as old and out of shape as I am, I’d jump to serve in any capacity. A seinen version of this story (which is not substantially different in any way) ran in Dengeki Daioh magazine. Two volumes of the shoujo version are out in English.

The Library of Bantorra stores the world’s history in the form of stone books that contain people’s memories within them. Protecting people’s access to those stories are extraordinary people with amazing powers, the “Armed Librarians.” The Book of Bantorra anime is still available for free, legally on Crunchyroll. The 10-book Light Novel series begins here Tatakau Shisho: Koi Suru Bakudan. (Japanese.)

But far more important than fictitious fighting librarians, there’s your local library and the Librarians that, without you knowing (or caring,) are doing their absolute best with just about nothing. Stop by your local library – thank them for their efforts, donate some money to their “Friends of” foundations, donate books, donate manga, donate time…all of it will be appreciated. They need all the help they can get in this fight. That means putting aside the typical fan negativity. “Oh, *my* library sucks.” Really? Can you take out 1984, or get Well of Loneliness on loan from another library? Is there a Graphics Novel section – no matter how small? Are there books you can take out? Then, no, your library doesn’t suck. Don’t whine about what they don’t have, because what they don’t have is time, staff and above all, they don’t have enough money. HELP them. They are fighting for you. Take a second and help fight for them.

Once more I want to sing the praise of my local library, The Morris County Library and the entire MAIN library system, for being shining examples of doing amazing things with less than nothing. (For those of you who are unaware, the governor of my state has basically cut the budgets of schools and libraries to, in most cases, all but zero and in some cases, zero. He is a man who does not value reading, math, science or, clearly, thinking.) I have been donating manga to the library and am planning on taking pictures of the GN shelves at all the libraries in the system that have them for a future article here. I got the volumes of Afterschool Nightmare I reviewed for the MMF through the system from the library I spent much of my childhood hours at. It was very nostalgic walking in there to pick them up.

Read a Banned Book. Think for Yourself. Support Your Library.

We all have to work together on this now or, one day soon, we won’t have the choice at all.

Here is me, trying to answer you and flailing pretty badly, in the newest round of “Utter Nonsense.”

Q:What is that little red creature in the Utena movie, anyways?

A: It’s Chu-chu’s drinking buddy, Wani.

Q: What do you feel Erica has been the most important thing released here in the states from Japan in the last 10 years, being manga, anime, or literature?

Important? In terms of Yuri, I’d say Aoi Hana, because it is a girl-girl romance that has all of the stereoptypical elements of a “Yuri” story, without being a parody. It’s something that when people ask, “what can I watch that is Yuri?” we can offer it up without embarassment or explanation.

In terms of the rest of the world, I’d say, the movie The Ring. It spawned a load -of remakes, similar movies and other media, as well as parodies and mash-ups.

Q: What would be the “Erica Prize” for someone who cosplayed Hayate X Blade — Hayate in full duckie suit.

And could pull off the look.

Probably a Shigeru family cat mascot for their sword. It would give me an excuse to go shopping on Yahoo Japan auctions. ^_^

Q: This was prompted by reading over “Girly” this morning. Can you say which you think is the best light-hearted Yuri series? That is, good, 3D likeable characters, but no “hand-stapled-to-forehead” angst?

Despite the fact that 1) I don’t make recommendations, because my interpretation of things and yours are going to be different and 2) this is just a slightly altered version of the dreaded “what is your favorite….?”question, I’m going to answer this anyway:

In English – Hayate x Blade – this has very little Yuri as such, but it has some and the whole shinyuu thing reads as coupling, even if it’s not.

In Japanese – Love My Life.

Q: How do you think a character’s usage of personal pronouns demonstrates his/her personality? For example: in Hourou Musuko, Yoshino’s decision to keep using “atashi” and Nitori’s similar determination to continue using “boku”. This even though both of them would rather be of opposite genders.

I’m not a Japanese linguist or sociologist, I have not read the series in question, nor do I have any issues with my gender, so I’m probably not the person to ask this, but, since you did, I’ll do my very best to answer. However. If a person who is in or has completed transition wants to express their opinion, I’d be delighted to have their input.

Here’s my thoughts on the topic – personal identity is quite possibly the single most complex thing about humans. Individuals are so *individual* about how we chose to define ourselves and there are a zillion terms for genders in, around, between and outside male and female. And the concept of “I” is the single most critical thing for anyone to define. It therefore is not surprising that in cultures where there are different words for “I” for males and females, the issue would be of importance. What, specifically, that importance is for that person would be an issue you’d have to take up with the individual or, in this case, the author.

If I had read the series in question, I might be able to project a response for the characters, but as I have not, that’s all I can give you.

Q: What series (anime or manga) would you want to promote to people who don’t usually watch anime or read manga, as a classic example of what the genre and the medium can do when they try.

Well, as I said above, I don’t recommend anything to anyone, nor would I attempt to proselytize anime to an uninterested party. I’d also have to take into account that person’s taste, so there’s no one answer. I might sit my Dad down with Silent Mobius, but not my niece. (OTOH, my wife’s nieces are into things like Code Geass and Witch Hunter Robin, so you never know, do you?) So, to side-step this iteration of “what’s your favorite…?” I’ll say I believe that Yuri has a gateway anime worthy of promotion in Aoi Hana.

Q: Were you surprised by Touko’s home life? After watching season 3 I wrote in my Maria-sama notebook: “What is Touko’s story? Probably similar to Sachiko” I was pretty far off the mark and lazily grouped the two rich girls together.

I wasn’t surprised, but I already knew what was coming, as I had been a fan long enough to have heard the story. If I hadn’t known…no, I don’t think it would have surprised me, and I think it was a good underlying motivation for Touko to act as she did.

Q: I think that most manga suffer when translated to English, because the calligraphic Japanese characters are more integrated with the art than an English translation can manage. Since you read both Japanese and English – what’s your take on this?

I’ve answered this one before. I don’t think translations suffer, I think translators have to make a choice between sense and feel. Sometimes a really good translator can capture both. They are different languages, and have evolved to communicate differently to different groups of people. It’s not possible to make one exactly reflective of the other, but that doesn’t mean a translation is inherently bad. It just takes skill to create a truly exceptional one, as you’d expect.

Q: What historical event or period do you think would make a good background or setting for a Yuri manga?

I dont know…how about Paris of the 1920s? Heaven knows there were plenty of lesbians there and some of them were crazy enough to make a good comic.

Q: Would your wife ever consider doing a guest review on Okazu?

She says, “Sure, if I read something that I thought was of note….”

Q: Here in the U.S., anime and manga is typically a very young fandom. What was it about manga and anime that caught your attention as an adult?

The lesbian couple in Sailor Moon S. That wasn’t my first anime – I had watched Starblazers in high school and recognized that “Japanimation” was a hole into which I’d throw my time and money, so I avoided it like the plague…until Ogata Megumi’s voice changed everything for me. :-)

Q:Why do you think there is so much more moe yuri than non-moe yuri and what do people see in it?

Because:

Oversimplified means people can (and have to) supply details themselves, so they make decisions that they then have to support because of cognitive dissonance. (After all, why would they care if it wasn’t worth caring about?)

Simple art is cheaper to produce than complex art.

Because the culture of cute in Japan requires women to remain childish well into their adulthood and because male otaku are both strongly socially conservative (so want their women to be innocent and young and virginal) and sometimes socially inept, some of them find real women intimidating and prefer their fantasy objects to be sweet, young, cute and unfinished. For these people, Yuri makes the most sense in the context of immature love, first crushes, experimentation. They are unlikely to be interested in stories of adult lesbian women making a life together (i.e., Fufu was received negatively by 2chan .)

Q: If a vendor was a complete and utter dick to everyone at your con, but provided valued and rare merchandise to those folks who did purchase from him, would you have him back the next year?

I love questions with an agenda. They are so meaningful. I’ll take it that you had a bad experience at one of my events then? ^_^

My answer is this: it depends.

I have had a vendor who made himself odious to both his fellow vendors and the attendees and no, he will never be allowed back to an event I run, regardless of his goods.

In recent years, I’ve invited only vendors I like and trust implicitly, so unless there was something really objectionable going on, then I’d probably have them back. Because the vendors welcome at my events now are people I know, my gut tells me than anyone who thinks they are dicks is probably someone I’d consider to be a dick. I’ve known most of these vendors a long time now, so, unless I’ve know the complainant longer, I’d probably take the vendor’s word over theirs.

Q: What is the best approach for the Yuri community to take to educated/deprogram fan boys to have a healthier relationship with Yuri?

Here’s a brick – apply that to your forehead.

Why on earth would you want to “educate” anyone? Do you want to be “educated” about anime? It’s a freaking cartoon…who cares if creeps are creepy?

My way of handling things is to do what I’m doing and not really worry about other people at all.

Q: What anime or manga do you feel best represents training? One thing I’ve seen in your reviews is that you prefer it when the viewer can see and understand that a character is training to the most that they can to accomplish some goal, over idiot savants. I find that I agree and was curious what shows or titles, yuri or not, best exemplifies this.

I think Stellvia was an excellent example of a character training until she was sick. Kaleido Star also had a protagonist who trained endlessly and got better as a result of hard work, not magic or plot complication.

Q: What genres of anime or manga that are usually “male coded” do you think could combine well with Yuri?

Yuri and giant robots?

Yuri and sports?

Yuri and martial arts fighting?

Yes.

Seen generally, Yuri is any series with lesbian characters or a lesbian storyline. There’s no reason to think that wouldn’t work with any genre. Sci-fi seems to particularly be a good genre in which there is a lot of service or implied Yuri, but very little really good Yuri. (Good by my standards, of course.)

Q: Is the Utena announcement the most awesomest announcement ev … oops, no which is better news, the Utena announcement or getting a Crunchy stream like Sora … oops.

Damn, these rules are still hard.

Umm, oh! oh! I got it! Do you see any chance of working Yuri Hime into one of the ventures being established to provide legit translated digital manga, whether DMP, OpenManga, or Bitway at Crunchy? And if so, what could we do to help it along?

I can’t answer that. Licensing is a complex thing. It relies on things like personal connections and funding, which you, the reading audience, cannot affect at all. There’s nothing you can do but buy stuff and tell companies you’d buy more and hope that 10,000 other people do the same thing.

Q: Just out of curiosity. I’ve just received the first three manga of Marimite and I noticed that ALL the kanji have furigana. Now, as a rule of thumb this should mean the books are aimed mainly at a primary\junior high students. This seems strange to me, I thought the all thing was for a little older audience, at least. Am I missing something?

You are missing the concept of “selling books means appealing to the widest audience possible.” The Cobalt Shuiesha line is for teens. The best written stories contained therein will also appeal to adults. In Book 3, you’ll see that Tsutako actually discusses this very thing with Yumi.

Q: What is the real Japanese attitude towards rape? Hentai aside, several anime and manga, even the so-called light comedy stuff, treat it so flippantly, as part of the “rape is love” or the “boys will be boys” attitude.

It’s illegal there, just like it is in most industrialized countries. Manga is not real life, it’s a comic. Like other forms of entertainment, it incorporates fantasies of all kinds which, for some people, will include emotional and/or physical rape.

Q: Why do (or should I say who is making) the mangaka artists write such insipid stuff like “I love cute girls,” and “Maids outfits are the best-est” in the forewords and afterwords of their manga. Have you ever read a foreword or afterword that wasn’t mindless prattle?

Their job is to draw and make stories that people like to read. And, realistically, these are people who express themselves through art, and sometimes have decent stories, too. ^_^ Some might be coached by editorial staff, others might not want to talk about anything personal, others might just be boring. Just because a person is skilled, doesn’t mean they are exciting.

Best artist’s notes I’ve read were by Tsuda Mikiyo, who actually tells some interesting stories in her afterwords.

Q: When attacked by zombies, what would your survival strategy be?

Do whatever Donna is doing.

Q: In a month, how much do you usually spend on manga/anime?

I buy stuff in large orders, not monthly, but if you broke it down, probably between $100- $120/month.

Q: You’ve got a time machine, when/where do you go?

To the court of Eleanor of Aquitaine. I want to see the woman for myself.

Q: In a month- how much time do you usually spend on anime and manga?

Probably about 120 hours or so in an average month. on weeks I’m working on books, or some other project, it can easily be 160 hours.

Q: So many times I have seen a movie adaptation of a novel (American or otherwise) and I’ve thought to myself, “this would have been so much better if it was adapted as an anime series.”

Forgive me if it’s been asked already…

If you could have an anime adaptation of a novel, which novel would you pick and which anime production team would you like to do it? Or… which movie adaptation of a novel would you have rather seen as an anime, and not the Hollywood abomination it was made into?

The book can be any genre. I’m not necessarily looking for something that is lesbian themed.

I’ll be honest. I never think that. I know it sounds ingenuous, but I really don’t. Above and beyond all things, I love books and rarely want them to be adapted to another medium.

But, because I’m trying to give these questions my best answers, I’ll say Alice in Wonderland. It just begs for a really good animated adaptation – something true to the original Tenniel illustrations and the story itself.

I don’t know anything about production studios, so I’ll pass on that. As I’ve said in the past, I’m a seiyuu otaku, the animation is secondary to me.

Q: what was the last time you read any news :O

This morning. I read the news every day.

***

And there you go. For what it’s worth to you, to me and to anyone who cares, there’s some insight into my brain. It mostly boils down to “complex things aren’t simple, simple things aren’t complex and wishing the one was the other is delusional. And, do whatever you feel like, because other people are the least of your worries.” ^_^

Recently, there’s been some significant changes in the manga and anime industries. In a time of flux some people look to new models, some cling to old and lots of people choose to shoot the messenger. In the manga and anime world, blogger-reviewers are frequently the messengers. :-)

Fans are pretty bad at social cues that “normal” people have no trouble picking up on. For instance, when someone says to you, “Gee look at the time,”  it isn’t a hint for you to look at your watch – it’s time to let the conversation drop and let them leave. :-) Likewise, if you’re talking someone’s ear off and they say, “Excuse me, I have to handle this,” and turn away from you, it’s time to wave and move on, *not* to say, “I’ll wait” and pick up where you left off when they are done.

And then there are reviews. I’ve already covered the fallacy of the objective review in a previous essay. Today I’d like to provide some basic lessons in how to read a review. These rules apply here of course, but they will also probably apply to any review written by anyone anywhere.

1) Don’t assume the reviewer has an agenda…unless they say they do

Reviews are…well, reviews. Usually a review is a synopsis of a story, some highlights of key positives and negatives, opinions as to why those matter and a conclusion. A conclusion, or a point made within the context of the review is not the same thing as an agenda. A reviewer’s agenda is to review the item. Unless they state something like, “I will prove that the Emperor is really a bicycle,” they probably have no other agenda but to review. Way few manga reviewers are corporate tools, shills or stoolies. Their only agenda is to review things of interest to fans. Accusing them of having an agenda is typically an indication that the reader was the one with an agenda – one that was not met.

2) Don’t assume the reviewer watches things the same way or looks for the same things in their entertainment as you do.

A reviewer may not notice something that is critical to you, or may focus on something you don’t find important at all.  The reviewer’s criteria are theirs, yours are yours.  Just because you love something doesn’t mean the reviewer will – even if you explain to them how important it is. Language is super important to me, but maybe not to you. A reviewer is going to focus on what they like – not necessarily what you like.

3) Don’t assume the reviewer plays by your rules

Maybe you would never call something boring. Maybe you would never give anything a 10. The review you are reading- unless it’s one of your own – may not follow *your* rules. You have the right to not read it, of course, but demanding the reviewer conform to your standards misses the point of reading someone else’s review/opinion. Which brings me to…

4) The reviewer does not owe you external validation

Some reviews will be negative about something you like. That happens and, when it does, you have three choices – you can consider the alternative point of view and find it valid or not; you can stop reading; you can throw a hissy fit in the comments or elsewhere. Whichever you choose, it’s important to remember that the reviewer is not your therapist – they do not owe you external validation of your opinion.

5) Disagreeing with your opinion is not a personal attack

This one is critical in fandom. We get so engaged about what we like, we forget that people have the right to not like it – or worse, not care about it at all. Unless a reviewer says, “people who like this are doodyheads” they are not implying this. They might disagree with your opinion, but not your right to your opinion. Take a deep breath – both opinions can be right. At the same time. Feel free to share yours in the comments, in a sane and lucid manner. It’s likely that there are other people who will agree with you, too.

6) A negative review about something you like should *never* affect your opinion of it

Recently I received a polite letter asking me to retract a review, because it deeply upset the person who was writing. He asked me how I would feel if someone attacked a series I liked? I wrote back to say that I would not care, because 1) my opinion is mine and why would someone else’s opinion change that and; 2) oh, there are PLENTY of things I like that other people don’t – and, you know what? That’s okay. It doesn’t bother me in the least when people disagree with me. That’s what makes life interesting.

I should have also added – 3) it’s a freaking cartoon, get a grip, man. I really hope that if you’re about to launch a screaming frothy-mouthed attack on any reviewer that you sit back, take a deep breath and consider why them liking this thing is SO critical for you? Will it actually affect you? How? Why? Unless you are the creator – then you’ve got a good reason to be upset, maybe. But, you still have to deal with the fact that some people just aren’t going to like the same things you like.

And the last and most important rule is:

7) You will never change anyone’s opinion by being angry at them

My opinion changes all the time. I’m pretty open to new ideas and perspectives. My opinion changes over time, with new circumstances and information. I’ve definitely changed my opinion when confronted with an alternative reading of something. But throwing a hissy fit in the comments will just about never change my opinion of whatever I reviewed. It might change my opinion of you.

In a column on his journal, film critic Roger Ebert said that video games are not art. Thousands of angry fans wrote him to explain why he was wrong. He apologized but, as I read his apology it was very clear to me that his opinion has not changed. Sure, he gets that lots of people see games as art. He clearly does not – and thousands of lunatics yelling at him (many threatening him) about it, did not shift that at all.

If you’ve ever written a reviewer and told them that they don’t get it, or that they are stupid; if you’ve ever said, “Have you read it/the second volume/seen the anime, because if you had then you’d know…”; if you’ve ever told a reviewer that they are wrong (as if an opinion can be wrong/right,)…then you have already failed in understanding what a review is and how you can usefully read and respond to it. You probably failed in making a good argument for your case, as well. We all do this, by the way – I’ve done it myself and been called out for it. It’s not a crisis, it’s just human interaction. But you’re way more likely to get a shift in opinion without the histrionics.

In conclusion, if I have ever reviewed something you liked negatively, then I am not at all sorry. Because I am not you. :-) It’s not an attack. It’s just a review. I don’t owe you external validation, but I do owe you as honest a review as I can write. And that’s what you’re gonna get here at Okazu – an honest review.

Robot Six started it, with Six by 6. Then David Welsh continued it with his wish list of Comic-Con licensing announcements. I knew I had to steal this meme immediately. I couldn’t pass up the chance. But….

I’m very realistic. This is not a Wish List – this is a full-on fantasy, fueled by ABSOLUTELY NOTHING, and with decidedly low chances of ever happening (with some exceptions.) Nonetheless. Here’s my Fantasy Five wishlist, in ascending order of probability, and suggestions as to which company might want to look into it and why they won’t. ^_^

Octave – There’s pretty much no chance of this ever being licensed because none of the US companies knows it exists.

Recommended Company: In past years, I might have suggested Tokyopop, but this series has low likelihood for becoming an explosion-filled movie, so they are probably not looking at it nowadays. It’s not wacky fun romance, so Viz Shoujo is out. I’m going to throw a dart randomly and say DMP would actually be a good fit for this series AND they have a potential target audience all wrapped up already – adult women. They could totally make a go of it.

Strengths: Beautiful art, very adult and real storyline.

Problems with it ever being licensed: It stars two bisexual women in a pretty realistic relationship. That’s just not Barnes & Noble shelf material. I give this a less than 5% chance of ever being licensed

Poor Poor Lips – I have already suggested to this to Yen Press, but don’t get your hopes up. It’s got an actual lesbian in it. That’s always awkward, when trying to sell Yuri. Incestuous catgirls – no problem. Real lesbian – no way.

Recommended Company: Yen Press. It’s a 4-koma gag comic. It just happens to have a real story in it, as well.

Strengths: GREAT story. Good solid characters. Only slightly painfully goofy. One gag that actually morphs over time.

Problems with it ever being licensed: That darn lesbian. If only she were a loli, fox-eared, kimono-wearing witch! Then we’d have it already, I have no doubt. But Ren persistently remains an adult, out lesbian. How vexing of her. Chance of being licensed, Less than 20%.

Aoi Hana – They have it in France, but France actually appreciates elegant manga. The reason we don’t have this boils down to one thing – we have no companies that DO this. It’s not action, it’s not romantic comedy, it’s not gag strips, it’s not BL.

Recommended Company: If anyone were going to even look into it, I’d hope it was Vertical, but the chances of this, like Octave, ever selling enough to make it worth investing in is very iffy. Like Octave, I think DMP could make a go of it, if they ever decided to branch out for real into GL.

Strengths: Everything

Problems with it being licensed: Size of market and that’s that. If there were 20,000 people who would buy it, I’d mortgage my house and get it myself. But there isn’t. Chance of it being licensed ever: 25%

Gunjo – Where to begin with this? There is a lot here that would be problematic, but a lot that would not. The characters are adults, which makes this safer territory than Aoi Hana, oddly. Psycho lesbian murderers? Yeah, the US does that okay.

Recommended Company: Viz Signature. They already have IKKI magazine. I’d like to see them add Gunjo to their online lineup. I could sell it for them, no problems.

Strengths: Violence, action, lesbian sex (and deep, awesome emotion, but no one cares about that)

Problems with it being licensed: Some stuff happened with it that made it an awkward sell. But if we all write Viz and ask nicely, maybe they’ll do it. Or barring that – send me all your money so I can afford to print it. :-) Chance of being licensed: 30%

Ribon no Kishi – I have no idea what the hold up with this is. Vertical has been putting out Tezuka, this is a Tezuka title and everyone I know has asked them about it. All they keep saying is that it’s not on the release schedule yet. I wonder why? Do they think Ayako will sell better than a title that is this well-known? No clue. I won’t speculate.

Recommended Company: Vertical, obviously

Strengths: This is a well-known title, has Girl Prince glamour and I know a lot of people are waiting for it to be added to the Vertical catalog.

Problems with it being licensed: None that I can see, so no clue what the hold-up is, just priorities, I guess. Chance of it being licensed – 50%

There it is. My fantasy five. I would be delighted if any of these make it to our shores, in any format. (Heck, I’d actually cough up for a digital system/platform/reader if that’s what it took to get these over here.) I don’t actually expect any of these soon, or at all, but I’d love to be wrong!

2012 Update: Princess Knight (Vertical) and Poor Poor Lips (JManga) have been licensed. Two down, three to go.

Well, friends, it’s that time again, when I feel like beating my head against the wall of your random questions about anything.

I’m going to reiterate the rules from last time, because they worked pretty well.

1) I will not answer questions about “what is your favorite….” anymore. They distress me, because I don’t *have* favorites, usually.

2) No “ham or cheese” or “Coke or Pepsi” questions. Please. They provide no entertainment to either you or me.

3) If you want to ask me what I see as the future of Yuri or why I like Yuri, I beg you to read all the previous iterations of my answers to these questions. If you have a question about Yuri that I have not previously addressed, bring it on!

4) Please, please, no questions that can be answered by 30 seconds of actually READING one of my reviews here.

5) And no “define the term” questions. Go here: http://okazu.blogspot.com/2008/03/okazu-glossary-of-terms.html. I did that already.

As always, I’ll do my best to answer most or all of the questions. I may combine similar questions, or decline altogether if it’s just something mean-spirited or weird.

Let me remind you that the goal here is to be entertaining – by which I mean it should be your goal to entertain me. I spend a lot of time here entertaining you, I think it’s fair that you work at it a bit too. Ideally, we will all be entertained by the end result. ^_^

Okay? Good. Then,  let’s have ’em!