This and that
Saw the new Star Trek movie. Liked it. It made me appreciate "Valiant" all the more, though. Triumphant stories are great most of the time, but sometimes it's nice to see a story where a "brilliant," reckless plan doesn't actually work out.


And now, a rant:
I'm getting a little tired of seeing people oversimplify the "you should buy things you like" issue (as in manga, books in general, DVDs, and so on). Yes, money talks, and sales do matter. This is common sense. But people act like it's some sort of noble, self-sacrificing thing to buy something you like for yourself. What we are talking about here is enlightened self-interest, or long-term self-interest rather than short-term (the future enjoyment you'll get if more things you like are created, rather than just the enjoyment you get from having it right now).
If you buy a popular book from the store, this is not a charitable donation to the writer/artist. It is one sale of many that will help keep them in a job, help keep the publisher and store in business, and help keep the market going--very important, and all things we want, but not as heroic as people make it out to be. (Note that if it's a small-press or self-published niche title that you're buying, each individual sale is more important.)
You are not single-handedly saving a given genre by buying a few books or videos; you are one of many, many people who are making the genre profitable. If your one sale was lost, it would be unfortunate, but it would not be a crushing blow; in fact, it would probably not be noticed at all. It is important for everyone to chip in, but let's not give each individual more importance than they deserve--that just sounds unconvincing and self-important. Will people only buy things if they feel like they're doing someone else a gigantic favor by doing so? Do they need to feel like their one sale is more than a drop in the bucket of a drop in the bucket for it to be worthwhile to them? I really hope not.

In short: Of course it's important to put your money where your mouth is, when you can. I hope that many other people are buying the things I like right along with me, so we can have more of them and so that the people producing them can stay in business. But am I some sort of morally superior, selfless superhero for buying a book I want instead of, for instance, donating the money to charity, or spending it on a gift for someone? Not so much.

On a related note, I found this series of posts (check the "Related:" section at the top first) informative.