The plushies are everywhere!
"Alien Dice" is making a base form Zeta, while "RPG World" is teasing about a Dragobo one. (Both are lizards; and yes, that's DRAgobo, NOT Chocobo.)

Miyazaki teh 1337
So lately, anime has taken this house by storm (and no, that's not a bad thing--I personally find the Japanese to be colorful storytellers, much better than Americans). To be honest, I still only dabble compared to what my co-worker at work has ("Downloaded, just not watched yet!"). I've discovered a few great names (Kishimoto, anyone?).

My dear Sara has a talent for finding the best reflections of a childlike human nature, of what we desire life to be and what it really is. One of the reflectors she found was Miyazaki.

No kungfu fighting here. No "everyone depends on ME and ONLY me to save the world". No overdone robots (THANK YOU!). No oversaturation of magic ad naseum. Those are all fun in themselves, but what's nice about Miyazaki is that Miyazaki is different. And can pull it off. Go ahead and admit that you thought anime was only done one way. It's okay. Americans have been able to make the occasional award-winning cartoon that will be remembered years from now ("Recess", among others), and it wasn't always of the commercialism variety. It worked because it was different.

I've seen both "Spirited Away" and "Princess Mononoke" (though I prefer the first). In an effort not to turn into some gushing little fangirl, I'll just say everything was balanced well in both. The music enhances the mood or remains silent. The stories show the innocence of childhood while also allowing the adult world to pervade, comical at times but also true to life. There are no bad guys here, just characters who are trying to live their lives and snatch at better ones. And the art ...oh the ....oh drool. Suffice it to say, this doodler is at a loss for words, the backgrounds are so real.

Now I too am dashing down that path of "more Miyazaki"! And in the end, I think it's more a sign of respect than anything.