On the Verge of Lunacy

Kratos holding the goblet dropped by Hera in God of War III. Link to my deviantart:  http://fav.me/d5zbkaj

Dante Alighieri of Dante's Inferno video game. Link to my deviantart:  http://fav.me/d5zbjye

Four infamous "pretty boys" are given an opportunity by their landlady to rent the mansion for free if they succeed in turning her niece into a lady. Takano Kyohei, Oda Takenaga, Toyama, Yukinojo, and Morii Ranmaru have their hands full trying to persuade Nakahara Sunako to forget the rejection she got from a guy and to abandon her creepy playthings. Unlike the radiant boys, Sunako is gloomy and antisocial. They will soon discover however that there is more to her than her looks. This 25-episode comedy series has plenty of funny scenes and a bit of romance. Exaggeration is used to deliver funny lines; Sunako is almost always in her chibi form except in more somber scenes. This is a bit distracting  but this is used to distinguish her contented and happy side from her gloomy personality. The romance part is just a bonus and a few hints are given, so do not expect any progress in that part. Although not stated explicitly, the characters' issue is all about ...

As the title of the book says, it discusses the evolution of art over the centuries. The author divided the book into five major sections, namely; Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Ancient Greece and Italy, and Medieval Painting. There is some useful information on the styles or "schools of art" that flourished in particular places or periods. The types of art and architecture were discussed briefly but the author left out so many things and focused on the lives of the artists instead. There is also very little information in the first three chapters and the author has a tendency to insert her own observations and opinions of the works of the artists that it can hardly be called a history book. The lives of the artists, particularly those from the medieval period are interesting, but the author uses the same pattern in recounting their lives and works. Her accounts of the location of the artworks also take up too much space and defeat the purpose of the book. Besides Egypt, Assy...

  Beat Mizorogi, a jolly high school student with an infectious smile, inspires his new classmates by organizing a fashion show in what would be the school's last festival. Besides helping his new friends Mei, Wanda, Miki, and Anna he was able to inspire his father and rekindle the love for fashion designing. Not everything about Beat's life however was all glam and smiles. His determination to complete the fashion show and to pursue his dreams of becoming a designer are tested when he learns of his girlfriend's condition and when his designs are copied by a clothing company.      RunWay Beat is a story of courage, friendship, and determination to pursue whatever it is that makes one happy. There is a bit of romance but it is not explored in the movie. The main characters are typical high school students but Beat's positive nature makes their friendship interesting. Beat is friendly, optimistic, and positive about everything yet he is tempered by experienc...

A former member of the assassin group Dark Stone finds her peaceful married life in danger of being taken away from her when the group finally discovers her whereabouts. Drizzle, whose new name is Zeng Jing, not only has to fight for her husband's, Jiang Ah-sheng, safety but has to take up the sword one last time to confront her past and sever her connections with the group. Dark Stone is looking for the remains of a Buddhist monk believed to make its possessor the most skillful in martial arts. At the beginning of the movie, Dark Stone members managed to get hold of one half of the remains by slaying Minister Zhang and his family. However Drizzle ran away with the remains and was pursued since then by the other members. When she is finally located by Dark Stone, Drizzle agrees to help Cao Feng, the gang's leader, to get the other half of the remains from another group and to restore the other in her possession in exchange for her freedom and her husband's safety....

In most history books, Alexander the Great is portrayed as the invincible conqueror who died when he was at his prime. Those same books however do not show readers the bigger picture. They don't tell us about Alexander's childhood, his motivations in his campaigns, and the kind of people he was surrounded with. The books only highlight his successful battles but the not the person behind one of the largest empires ever created. In Alexander the Great, Jacob Abbott not only tells the story of how a talented heir to the Macedonian throne became the hegemon of the Hellenic league and lord of Asia but of his character as a leader, a benefactor, and a merciless foe. Abbott provides a background of Alexander's immediate family and the political climate in which he grew up.  Other books only highlight the fact that he was one of Aristotle's pupils but there were more people who influenced his ideas and motivations. His campaigns in Greece and against the Persian Empir...