The Sarcastic 10-Second Guide to PsyTrance

Psychedelic trance (also known as “Psytrance” or “Goa trance”) is a form of electronic dance music that has been parting hippies from their hard-bartered cash since the early 1990s. It combines a pattern of repetitive beats and melodies, which lull the listener into a trance-like state, with high-frequency wave forms. These, when combined with various recreational pharmaceuticals, can induce visual and aural hallucinations that appear to follow the same pattern as the music, and which generally results in the listeners either staring vacantly into space, or dancing like a drunk elephant wearing too tight shoes.

School Daze – The Comedies (Part 2)

Well, recess was a bit longer than anticipated, but I feel bad about keeping my avid reader(s) in suspense (sorry, Mum!), plus it seems I also have a whole bunch of homework to catch up on, seeing as the winter season is finally winding down and there’s a couple of completed series I still want to ramble on about, so I guess I’d better get my a into g and finish this part of School Daze.

Still, I think there’s time to sneak a ciggy behind the bike shed, before next period starts…

School Daze – The Comedies (Part 1)

I suppose that given that 99% of anime is supposed to be watched by teenagers, it’s only fitting that there’s an awful lot of anime that’s based in and around schools. Some of it’s good, some of it’s terrible and there are a few that have become what might be described as well-loved classics – both in Japan and the rest of the anime-watching world – especially those that aren’t afraid to break the mold. Whereas most high school-based series tend to revolve around one or more of the kids having supreme fighting or magical skills (ho-hum), there are a few that aren’t afraid to either poke fun at the genre, or society in general, or even take a deeper look at what it means to be a teenager and the challenges that come with it. It’s these series (well, those that it’s been my pleasure – and occasional misfortune – to watch) that I’m going to blather on about in this post.