Fun With Migration Assistant~

HAHAHAHAHAHA. HAHA. HA. So this blogging thing. I really suck at it, huh. I was pretty alright for a couple of months there, but then what. Oh well, on with the show!

I really want to blog more often, though, because I absolutely love typing on my Macbook. I love it. The keys are so nice and not too loud and ahhh. It's really satisfying to type on this keyboard, ok. Of course, I love my Macbook in general. It's my baby! However, that's not to say there haven't been a couple of lows... unfortunately. In the few weeks I've had my baby I've learnt a few things. The first being; no matter how old or new your system is, you are guaranteed to spend more time fixing glitches, crying and pulling you hair out over The Sims 3 than actually playing the damn game. That's a fault of the Sims, more specifically EA, not my Macbook. Secondly, I'm not actually a huge fan of the organisation of files and such on the Macbook. Awkward, because the ease and tidiness of organisation was a pull factor towards Mac for me. I don't know how to explain it, exactly, it's just different than my desktop Mac computer, which is much older so that probably has something to do with it. It just doesn't appear as tidy and straight-forward on my Macbook. I really don't like how when you open Finder is opens with 'All My Files'. I don't want to see all my files at once. I want to see nice, alphabetically ordered folder icons with Music, Documents, Downloads and so on. Again, that probably isn't a fault on Apple's behalf, I guess it's more of my anal attitude towards things being organized and organizing my junk. [UPDATE] Ok just ignore that last problem, I figured out how to get things the way I want them. I love it now. Another kind of annoying thing is that I haven't figured out a way to get my photos of my iPod onto my laptop. Now, again, that may just be a fault on my behalf, but it certainly isn't as easy as it is on a PC. And I'm not the only one with this issue. It is quite a big issue for me, because I take almost all my photos on my iPod, and I want to upload them to places, like here or my Facebook. [UPDATE] Also ignore this problem, I know how to do it easily now. So basically, just ignore this entire paragraph lolol.

The most important, and pressing thing I've discovered though is when you set up your Macbook for the first time, and you are given the choice to use Migration Assistant then or do it later once you're set up, DO IT STRAIGHT AWAY, DO NOT CONTINUE SET UP UNTIL IT'S DONE. It can lead to a lot of issues if you chose to do it later. Me being completely impatient, I decided that I would just do it later. Because when it gives you the option in set up, it doesn't outline that if you chose to migrate after set up, it could cause some annoying problems. It really should say, while you can do it later it is highly recommended that you do so now. Unfortunately, I learned the hard way. So when I got around to migrating all my junk from my PC to my Macbook a couple of weeks after getting it, everything seemed to be going smoothly. My first choice was to use an external drive, but for some reason my external drive wouldn't register on my PC. So I chose to do it through wireless network. So yeah, that all worked and it took a few hours. But then when I went to try and find my files on my Macbook, they were nowhere to be seen. I googled it and found out that using Migration Assistant AFTER set up, will often mean that it will create a new user on your Macbook. In short, rather than just transferring your chosen data from one computer, it transfers your account. Sort of. So I ended up with this unwanted user on my Macbook, and the worst thing was that it was locked by a password, that I was unaware of. I tried everything to get into the account and get my stuff, but no matter what people suggested it wouldn't work. Yeah, changing the password in System Preferences didn't work. In the end, after some playing around, I found a way to unlock and access the file folders in that user from my actual user, and I transferred all the files into my account and deleted the unwanted user. I thought my problems were over there, but nope. That would be too simple. While the problem I'm experiencing now isn't exactly a huge issue, it's annoying nonetheless. I had all my images arranged into folders (e.g I had an LM.C folder, and SuG folder, a Golden Bomber folder etc.), and luckily they still existed after the transfer, but now whenever I want to put new images in those folders, I have to 'authorize' or 'authenticate' or whatever it is, byt typing in my password. EVERY. FUCKING. TIME. It's getting really, really tiresome, because I'm always finding new images and such. Also, it took ALL of my music out of it's similarly arranged folders, so I was left with 3000+ individual songs to arrange back into albums/artists and whatever.

So I resolved to just delete everything that I transferred using Migration Assistant, and re-transfer it all again, the manual way. I borrowed my dad's external device thing, which has tonnes of space. It all worked just fine, and even took less time than Migration Assistant, which was surprising. So I would say just do it the manual way. It's much easier and less stressful.

Oh, sorry, this just turned into one big, rambly technology post. My bad. Um. I'll post again within the next couple of days with some of what's been going on in my life. Don't get too excited, it really isn't that interesting. And there isn't very much of it. Derpderp social vegetable okay.

Now Playing - デコトラの星☆ (Deco-tora no hoshi) by シンディケイト (Cindykate)

Review All The Things~!

Well, actually just two things...
Alrighty kids, so this time I'm going to do a review, of sorts, of AYABIE's new album ANSWER. Aaaand then next time, I will also do SID's album M&W! I'm aware that both aren't brand new, with M&W being a month old already, but hey, better late than never. Now, when I say review, I mean a Misa-style review, where I basically (let's be honest here) just fangirl about how awesome things are. I've already said it, I'm not very good at describing music and what it is I like/dislike about it, but I try, really! I'll try my best to keep things as brief as possible. Sometimes I can tend to ramble on a bit though... Hopefully it won't end up as long as my review of SuG's Lollipop Kingdom. And, just one more thing before I start, please remember that what I'm about to say is JUST MY OPINION. You know I will never say anything to intentionally hurt anyone's feelings or to just to be mean. Plus, I really don't have anything bad to say about this album at all. Both AYABIE and SID are special to me, so please bear in mind that just because I think one or two songs are 'okay', it doesn't mean I hate them or don't like them. Ok, without further ado, let's begin!

ANSWER
1. Prelude - This is the intro song, and honestly, it is lovely. I love that they made it to the tune of Ryuusei, which is the last song on the album. It makes a very nice mirror, and it was very beautifully done. It's understated and elegant, not too in your face. It was a perfect introductory song.
2. RISE - Great. Just, great. I don't know what else to say. The composition is great, it's position on the album with the way it flows from the prelude is great, it's energy is great. It really sets the album off with a bang, and I love it.
3. Reflector - The thing that I kept thinking when listening to this song was, this is a song with sass. It's got this awesome attitude, which I love, and it keeps up the pace with RISE. I actually wish they made a PV for this song, I imagine that it would be really sexy and sophisticated.
4. Kakusei Sprechchor - This song was released as a single, so we already know it. But that doesn't make it any less kick-ass. It's got this brilliant, catchy vibe and energy. And it's just a really good, cool song.
5. Niji - Ahh, this song was pretty cute. Although at the same time, it sounds kind of epic. It's quite magical and lovely to listen to. It's less intense than the previous songs, yet it maintains the energy of the album.
6. LOVE SONG - Damn, this song is smooth. It's almost jazzy, and it's really chill. It has a good relaxed pace, a nice break from the pumped up songs, but it's still fun - not dull at all.
7. Paradise Paradox - Oooh, this one is fun. It's quite techno-ish, I'd say it's probably the most electronic sounding song on the album, even though yes, I know, most of the songs are electro-ish in some aspect. It's a good, catchy song that makes you wanna dance. I love Yume's voice in the chorus! It also reminds me a liiiittle bit of LM.C's GAME of LIFE. It has an awesome transition into track eight, too...
8. MERRY GO ROUND - FUCKING LOVE IT. I already knew that. This song is easily one of my favourite AYABIE songs. Easily. I love it so much, I can't say anything more about it, other than KURU KURU KURU, FUWA FUWA FUWAAAA~!
9. Koma - the intro for this song is really good! It stuck with me. The song as a whole is very good, so AYBIE-ish. It's upbeat, with strong vocals from Yume. It uses an interesting mix-up of instrumentals/tempos/beats etc. I think the key thing about this song is the way it transitions into the next song. It's so smooth, I didn't even realise the track had changed...
10. SICs - Ohshit. Ohhhh shit. This song is probably my favourite new song on the album. The music is fanfuckingtastic, and Yume's voice is amazing. It's so fucking awesome and unbelievably kick-ass. The intro is just omfgasjgdfg. I really wasn't expecting it at all. It's almost like a little bit of DEATHBIE came through in this song, I love it.
11. HERO - Wow, talk about a turn around. There is a complete change in tone with this song. It's super happy and positive. It makes me feel like I can take on anything, and I'll be ok. It has a comforting cheerfulness, like, Hey! Don't worry, everything is gonna be fine! Don't worry! Just be young, have fun! It's a youthful song. It had me jumping around and dancing, smiling like an idiot the whole time. Takehito's solo was cute, too!
12. Season - This song is cute, Yume's voice is lovely. This song was on the MERRY GO ROUND single, so it's not new to us. But it's still a nice song. It's chill, cool. Yup. Personally, I wouldn't have included this song on the album. I'll be honest, it's not their best song. But it's still good.
13. Ryuusei - RYUUUUSEI~! This is also an easy AYABIE favourite of mine. It's just such a beautiful song. Yume's voice is gorgeous, the music is composed and arranged beautifully. It's a prefect song, from to beginning to end. I am so in love with it. It's magical and wonderful. Ahh, the riff! I lvoe Takehito's riff, and solo! The beat is perfect, the bass ties everything together and it just works. I feel so happy listening to this song, it makes me feel so secure. It's mirror with the prelude, and it's general loveliness, make it the perfect song to end the album with.

And so that's my thoughts on ANSWER. I don't really want to rate it, because it's really hard to detach myself from my fangirl love for them and look at it critically. So I won't. I would say the only problem I had, and it isn't even really a problem, was Season. There are other songs they could have chosen, but honestly, the album is perfect. It's intelligently arranged, so it has a continuity and flow to it that make the listen experience a real pleasure. Great work, AYABIE!

Please forgive my incoherent and frankly crappy writing and reviewing skill. I try my best. But I enjoy writing these reviews regardless. So, to anyone reading who is interested in SID, please look forward to my next post, which will be a review (in the same style as this) of M&W~!

Thank you for reading. ^^

NP - SICs by AYABIE 

Miracle Growth~

For the past four months I've been desperately trying to grow out my hair. Unfortunately, it isn't really progressing very much. I blame it on how much I dye my hair, even though I don't often dye it outrageous colours. I wish I could do unnatural colours more often, but my school is balls and won't let me. So it's mostly just red/brown/purple-ish sorts of colours. At the end of last year I did bleach my hair and dye it bright purple though, but because my hair colour was so dark prior to that, I had to bleach it about three times. I also did a sort of two-tone with my hair a couple of months ago, so I bleached half of my hair. That one didn't go as light blonde as I wanted, as the purple I used had stained my hair sort of pink, so it was more like a peach colour on one side and black on the other. Anyway, I think this is what is stopping my hair from growing very much; it's all dead. It sucks, cause before I started dying my hair, my hair always grew really quickly, but now it just doesn't. And I don't want to get the dead ends cut off, because hairdressers don't understand the term 'trim'. NEVER EVER EVER ask a hairdresser for a trim. They'll cut half your fucking hair off. I've been to countless hairdressers in my life, and am yet to find one who understands what I mean by trim. My hair is all black now, but my roots are coming through, and my fringe is getting lighter, so I really want to dye it again. Maybe purple-black or blue-black. We'll see.

"Cucumbers are fuzzy." I was going to make this the title of this post, but out of fear of immediate misconception, I decided against it. I still think it's fairly amusing though, considering I was actually talking about kiwifruit...

I was thinking about what to write for this post. I had ideas coming and going. Then I saw a comment about Kanon Wakeshima, so I decided I'd share my thoughts on her. Let me just say this straight up. I absolutely, completely and utterly adore her. She has the voice of an angel and her skills as a cellist are freaking boss. Plus, she's beautiful, has adorable lolita fashion, and she is an amazing artist. I'll admit it without hesitation, as a straight girl, she's totally my ladycrush. Kyary Pamyu Pamyu can also fall into this category, though... Anyway. So what this is all about, is the difference between her two albums, and I 'll apologise in advance because we all know that I suck at explaining music. My review of SuG's Lollipop Kingdom will tell you that much. So, again, just to make things clear from the beginning, my favourite album of hers is Shinshoku Dolce, but this feeling is definitely NOT influenced by the fact that Mana was the producer. I started listen to Kanon before I even knew Mana had been her producer, and I listened to both albums at the same time, so for me that bias didn't exist (not that I actually would be biased, I'm only a fan of Mana for his amazing fashion //brickedbyfangirls). But people saying that her second album was a 'train wreck' and that without Mana she has nothing, makes me kind of annoyed. Just because it has a different sound and style, doesn't automatically make it crap. It makes her a diverse musician, someone with the capability to learn and grow, to experiment with change, which is an admirable quality. Also, without Mana, she still has her beautiful voice, and she still has her twenty-odd years of cello training. I don't know about you, but I certainly wouldn't call that nothing. Yes, maybe she isn't as good or experienced at composing songs as Mana, but she has only been alive for about half the time that he has, and in the music business for much, much less. She's young, yes, but she will learn, and I believe she has already learnt a lot. I think Lolitawork Libretto is a fantastic album, and shows off her skills in all aspects. My favourite on the album is Celmisia, which is an absolutely breathtaking song. I may be wrong, but my personal thought on Lolitawork Libretto is that, this is the kind of music that Kanon herself wants to make. With Mana as her producer, there would have been pressure to fit with his style. Please don't misunderstand, I'm not saying that Mana is some kind of tyrant who forced her to do it, because if she didn't want to make music like that then she clearly wouldn't have. I just believe that with Mana, that was the look and sound that they were going for. But with Lolitawork, where it's mostly self composed, I think Kanon had the freedom to experiment and try new sounds. It's an expression of her solo identity. It's her. But like I said at the beginning, Shinshoku Dolce is my favourite album. I think Kanon can pull of both styles beautifully, and she can do it with or without Mana.

And as for KanonxKanon, well, I hate to say it but that's where my love for her goes on hiatus. KanonxKanon, IN MY OWN PERSONAL OPINION, WHICH I AM, AS A HUMAN BEING, ALLOWED TO HAVE, has ruined her, musically and otherwise. It in no way showcases her amazing talent, the music is average at best, and I eagerly await the day when that project is put aside and she goes back to being a solo artist. //endrant

Wow, that ended up being way longer than I intended. And I didn't even provide a very strong arguement. Oh well, I got my thoughts down, that's all that matters. It's a good thing nobody reads my blog anyway, otherwise I may get attacked by some vicious Mana/An Cafe fans. Eeep.

NP - Skip Turn Step by Kanon Wakeshima (Fitting, no? xD)