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What's this cold, white, frozen water?
Dec. 17th, 2010 04:00 pmBwahahaha~!
First snowfall in my LIFE!
*is enchanted*
First snowfall in my LIFE!
*is enchanted*
INCEPTION: What's going on, clarified!
Dec. 6th, 2010 07:25 pmToo much awesome has gone on in my IRL teaching English in Korea to blog briefly, so I'll just share an Inception video someone made clarifying how time and what was going on during the inception operation.
THE AWESOME SPOTLIGHT
Level 1: Yusuf
Level 2: Arthur
Level 3: Eames (and Saito)
Level 4: Dom (Ariadne, and Saito)
THE AWESOME SPOTLIGHT
Level 1: Yusuf
Level 2: Arthur
Level 3: Eames (and Saito)
Level 4: Dom (Ariadne, and Saito)
First, some link dumps:
The ideal casting of Avatar: The Last Airbender
See the effects of this generation's possessing mp3 players and iPods: a hearing test.
A comic describing the typical college student, newly graduated.
An neat-o retro dress I wish I could try on
This is a clearly biased source, but Arizona School Demands Black, Latino Students' Faces on Mural be Changed to White. Oh, Arizona, you're regressing. What was that thing called? Oh, yeah... The Civil Rights Movement!
And on a related note, what if the Winchester brothers were POC(people of color) and happened to have a case in Arizona?
Avatar: The Last Airbender not only was full of race fail and a terrible movie, but had a douchebag of a director who completely misses the whole point of the Race Fail activism.
More reasons why Twilight is made of fail, as if there weren't already enough. More also in the comments.
History shows homosexuality is not a product of these modern times.
She proves that the Governator shouldn't have pulled funding on education:
The Newsies dance to Bad Romance:
Super Junior promoting their country for the World Cup! And if this video shows the average, Korean people are gorgeous.
When watching this, I actually want a puppy just like this one!
I guess Dodge doesn't sell cars in Britain.
Would you slide if you saw this on you commute?
Music made by tools:
Perfect for those GIANT parking lots. Careful with the eggs though. And keep your eyes peeled around 1:25. ;)
Optical illusions are marvelous!
For the gamers out there, Mario made classy:
We all just need a little bit of love:
The ideal casting of Avatar: The Last Airbender
See the effects of this generation's possessing mp3 players and iPods: a hearing test.
A comic describing the typical college student, newly graduated.
An neat-o retro dress I wish I could try on
This is a clearly biased source, but Arizona School Demands Black, Latino Students' Faces on Mural be Changed to White. Oh, Arizona, you're regressing. What was that thing called? Oh, yeah... The Civil Rights Movement!
And on a related note, what if the Winchester brothers were POC(people of color) and happened to have a case in Arizona?
Avatar: The Last Airbender not only was full of race fail and a terrible movie, but had a douchebag of a director who completely misses the whole point of the Race Fail activism.
More reasons why Twilight is made of fail, as if there weren't already enough. More also in the comments.
History shows homosexuality is not a product of these modern times.
She proves that the Governator shouldn't have pulled funding on education:
The Newsies dance to Bad Romance:
Super Junior promoting their country for the World Cup! And if this video shows the average, Korean people are gorgeous.
When watching this, I actually want a puppy just like this one!
I guess Dodge doesn't sell cars in Britain.
Would you slide if you saw this on you commute?
Music made by tools:
Perfect for those GIANT parking lots. Careful with the eggs though. And keep your eyes peeled around 1:25. ;)
Optical illusions are marvelous!
For the gamers out there, Mario made classy:
We all just need a little bit of love:
Lots and lots of news!
Jul. 20th, 2010 11:25 pmOkay, so I haven't posted anything substantial in the past two months or so and it's because my life has just been that incredible busy.
Early June:
So yeah, I'm the proud owner of two Bachelors of Arts; one in English, and one in Design.
Late June-Early July:
The last one I did for $8.50 an hour, the university so takes advantage of its student assistants and has caused me the most grief. I even worked through a weekend vacation with my family to Lake Tahoe, that was how tight this project was. Honestly, I asked in early June, May even, if there were any projects and they slam this all at me late June and it's needed for the IFT conference this past weekend. Design should be made at the drop of a hat, my God!
But the whole reason I got off my butt and posted pertains to
because guess what? I GOT IT! I'm going to go to Korea (South, needless to say) for a year in testing my teaching abilities. Salary is a modest $2k per month, but housing is included and I never had a chance to study abroad. In addition, this ESL job will help me learn whether teaching is a possible career for me.
Of course, I only found this out yesterday and that I'll be leaving the States August 17th. This means giving my notice to two of my obligations, clean and move out of apartment, and pack for it. I need to get a laptop with video capabilities (Skype! and sys reqs for CS5) and maybe a new camera as my point-and-shoot is about 5-years-old. Any one ever been there and have suggestions and/or advice for this Asian American, recent college graduate girl? I normally find lectures tolerable at best, but any ranting/essays you have would be awesome!
To DO:
Early June:
- Finals
- Finishing up my last quarter of undergrad
- Taking care of financial aid (which I'm STILL not finished with)
- Finding work in the summer
- Running around getting legal documents for one of my job applications
- Graduating
- GRADUATING--BOOYAH!
So yeah, I'm the proud owner of two Bachelors of Arts; one in English, and one in Design.
Late June-Early July:
- TAing for DES 117, a web design course
- Logo clean up for the Yolo County Visitor's Bureau (unpaid)
- Scrambling to create a departmental brochure, conference program, and flyer for Food Science when no one would e-mail me back in time or kept sending me corrections after corrections from the copy THEY gave me
The last one I did for $8.50 an hour, the university so takes advantage of its student assistants and has caused me the most grief. I even worked through a weekend vacation with my family to Lake Tahoe, that was how tight this project was. Honestly, I asked in early June, May even, if there were any projects and they slam this all at me late June and it's needed for the IFT conference this past weekend. Design should be made at the drop of a hat, my God!
But the whole reason I got off my butt and posted pertains to
- Running around getting legal documents for one of my job applications
because guess what? I GOT IT! I'm going to go to Korea (South, needless to say) for a year in testing my teaching abilities. Salary is a modest $2k per month, but housing is included and I never had a chance to study abroad. In addition, this ESL job will help me learn whether teaching is a possible career for me.
Of course, I only found this out yesterday and that I'll be leaving the States August 17th. This means giving my notice to two of my obligations, clean and move out of apartment, and pack for it. I need to get a laptop with video capabilities (Skype! and sys reqs for CS5) and maybe a new camera as my point-and-shoot is about 5-years-old. Any one ever been there and have suggestions and/or advice for this Asian American, recent college graduate girl? I normally find lectures tolerable at best, but any ranting/essays you have would be awesome!
To DO:
- Finished 27 sketches to be finalized for a small company
- Finish laying out health journal issue
- Call Aunt L for advice on airfare from SFO to ICN
- Eat all the food in fridge and freezer
- Go see Inception and/or Toy Story 3
- Aforementioned stuff about apartment
- Wait for contract/info packet and then apply for E2 visa
A little bit of happy:
Jul. 14th, 2010 03:01 amA little bit of happy from worrying about post-grad plans and crunching deadlines for work:
A Letter to June Manga
May. 20th, 2010 12:07 amTook a break from crunching deadlines to address a rant long in the making:
Dear June Manga,
Do you do any research on your reading audience besides their gender? Specifically: their age?
I am mainly inquiring about the ridiculously childish cover designs you have for over 75% of your manga. If you were to do an online poll or take a look at the shelves in the bookstores that carry yaoi graphic novels, you will discover that all readers are at least of high school age. The main reason I do not buy your books because I cannot bear to look at the horrible typography on the cover? You should already be designing to appeal to an older crowd anyways as yaoi is usually explicit and reserved for 18 and older. When I buy a book, I place it on my book shelf as a display and what else of a book gets displayed but its cover?
How many 18-year-old women would buy the fluffy pink book you portray as yaoi manga? You're only hurting your own sales in not taking this into account. Have you not seen the original Japanese or Korean covers? Why do you go such lengths to make a totally different look and then FAIL so terribly at it? Are you actually trying to attract 10-year-old readers with the cutesy look?
Also, whoever does the current designs needs to take a course in basic typography and color theory immediately. The Ai no Kusabi titles are a particularly eye-searing example. Way to ruin beautiful cover art. There's also no need to make the font in each series look so drastically different. It's actually gotten to the point where I often have to squint or tilt my head in order to make out titles. Have you never heard of the phrase, "form follows function?" Ask your graphic designers--their intro courses should have covered this.
In conclusion, June Manga, please actually design your covers.
In Brute Honesty,
A Reader Heartily Sick of Garish Covers
The garish covers at which I shudder. I also did send this to them. XD
Dear June Manga,
Do you do any research on your reading audience besides their gender? Specifically: their age?
I am mainly inquiring about the ridiculously childish cover designs you have for over 75% of your manga. If you were to do an online poll or take a look at the shelves in the bookstores that carry yaoi graphic novels, you will discover that all readers are at least of high school age. The main reason I do not buy your books because I cannot bear to look at the horrible typography on the cover? You should already be designing to appeal to an older crowd anyways as yaoi is usually explicit and reserved for 18 and older. When I buy a book, I place it on my book shelf as a display and what else of a book gets displayed but its cover?
How many 18-year-old women would buy the fluffy pink book you portray as yaoi manga? You're only hurting your own sales in not taking this into account. Have you not seen the original Japanese or Korean covers? Why do you go such lengths to make a totally different look and then FAIL so terribly at it? Are you actually trying to attract 10-year-old readers with the cutesy look?
Also, whoever does the current designs needs to take a course in basic typography and color theory immediately. The Ai no Kusabi titles are a particularly eye-searing example. Way to ruin beautiful cover art. There's also no need to make the font in each series look so drastically different. It's actually gotten to the point where I often have to squint or tilt my head in order to make out titles. Have you never heard of the phrase, "form follows function?" Ask your graphic designers--their intro courses should have covered this.
In conclusion, June Manga, please actually design your covers.
In Brute Honesty,
A Reader Heartily Sick of Garish Covers
The garish covers at which I shudder. I also did send this to them. XD
Help a (student) graphic designer out?
May. 9th, 2010 03:15 pmHello, my beloved peanut gallery. My final project for this quarter's infographics class is a redesign of a blood donation education handout. If you have 10 or so free minutes, please download this two-page pdf
and take this survey
Thank you so much!
And a very happy Mother's Day to the parents on my flist!
and take this survey
Thank you so much!
And a very happy Mother's Day to the parents on my flist!
Glee's 2nd season has flaws
May. 8th, 2010 01:23 pmI loved Glee when it came out, but due to school and other rl issues, I haven't been able to watch the most recent season. It appears I'll be disappointed, if this article posted by ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
apocalypsos is even an iota true.
To summarize: One of the things we loved in the first season was how relevant money issues were, since it's an issue so close to our practical hearts yet rarely mentioned in most television series. The new season doesn't really have any issues, what with the numerous costume changes and other things that have happened.
And is Glee falling into the trap of a the cliche, choir v.s. cheer battle?
A lot of the more interesting characters, the ones teen television series rarely include or devote much attention to, seem to have also fallen into cliche (Mercedes, with her awesome personality becoming the stereotypical "soul" contributor and a way to convey body image lessons) or completely sidelined (Puck, the "Lothario" of the group, whose voice just absolutely wowed me the vol 1 soundtrack).
Continuity, too, seems to have been lost as the writers and directors try to cram as many story lines into every episode as they can, leaving us with only more questions.
All of the above is what I gleaned from the Atlantic article, but I have listed to the new season's soundtrack and it doesn't measure up to volumes 1 and 2.
------
Also fromapocalypsos, an article about ten television stars who might have the chops to become movie stars, and JENSEN ACKLES is on it!
\o/
Also John Barrowman, but the tales of what he does kind of intimidates me.
cracked.com: the 5 most unintentionally offensive comic book characters
apocalypsos is even an iota true. To summarize: One of the things we loved in the first season was how relevant money issues were, since it's an issue so close to our practical hearts yet rarely mentioned in most television series. The new season doesn't really have any issues, what with the numerous costume changes and other things that have happened.
And is Glee falling into the trap of a the cliche, choir v.s. cheer battle?
A lot of the more interesting characters, the ones teen television series rarely include or devote much attention to, seem to have also fallen into cliche (Mercedes, with her awesome personality becoming the stereotypical "soul" contributor and a way to convey body image lessons) or completely sidelined (Puck, the "Lothario" of the group, whose voice just absolutely wowed me the vol 1 soundtrack).
Continuity, too, seems to have been lost as the writers and directors try to cram as many story lines into every episode as they can, leaving us with only more questions.
All of the above is what I gleaned from the Atlantic article, but I have listed to the new season's soundtrack and it doesn't measure up to volumes 1 and 2.
------
Also from
apocalypsos, an article about ten television stars who might have the chops to become movie stars, and JENSEN ACKLES is on it! \o/
Also John Barrowman, but the tales of what he does kind of intimidates me.
cracked.com: the 5 most unintentionally offensive comic book characters
Diane Gabaldon "barfs" at fanfic
May. 3rd, 2010 11:44 amapocalypsos notified us about another author who hates fanfiction and man, oh, man, Diane Gabaldon takes the cake. Of course, I'm biased, but so is everyone else. In case you missed it, that's my disclaimer. In the blog post, Ms. Gabaldon patronizes, condescends, and essentially does her best to portray fanfiction writers as the worst thing that has happened since Lucifer fell and Hell was created. I've actually read one of her books (not her Outlander series) and while I loved her descriptions and characters, it's a bit Mary-Sueish, to use a fandom term. It's a grown-up, better written, slightly less crazy version of the more well-known Twilight by Stephanie Meyer.
She begins with this lovely paragraph:
"OK, my position on fan-fic is pretty clear: I think it’s immoral, I _know_ it’s illegal, and it makes me want to barf whenever I’ve inadvertently encountered some of it involving my characters."
She "knows" it's illegal and it makes her want to "barf."
As a fanfic reader, sometime writer, and a member of the fanfiction community, I know just how gray fanfiction is, legal-wise. It's a huge debate among writers of fic that resurfaces every year or so. But really, some of my absolute favorite writers (Jim Butcher, Mercedes Lackey, and even the venerable Anne McCaffrey) are absolutely awesome about it: Creative Commons license, don't profit from it, and don't tell me about it.
I'm a bit more conciliatory about her points in the post, but seriously, no matter what happens, fanfiction won't disappear because you disapprove of it. That's the danger that comes from making anything public (and this makes me realize if I ever manage to get clients, locked layers, pdfs, and jpegs only!).
( The comment I wrote )
While some comments were posted by people who have no idea what fanfiction is and were just really incensed about this illegal writing, there are lots of good ones for and against fanfiction that I had fun reading from a purely academic standpoint.
UPDATE
Fantastic! It's been 6 hours since I've posted and the 72 comments have ballooned to over 360. If nothing else, Ms. Gabaldon should now realize how much online power fanfic writers have.
Another user, Lanna-lovely, posted a comment that sums up the rest of my reaction to this post:
( Cut in case you're not really that interested )
And this lovely lady, Apteryx, brings up another incredibly relevant point! Uncut for the sweetness.
"Diana, I have to say I think you're being really precious about this.
I have never read fan fiction but it seems to me to be a completely natural thing for FANS to do. It is simply an adult version of children dressing up as their favourite characters from books and tv shows and role playing with those characters using their imagination and love for them.
And it is something that only the truly fanatical would do. These people are your biggest fans and you are crapping all over them. Fan fiction is produced from love.
I would also like to remind you that you have stolen other author's characters and put them in your books. Admittedly they are usually in cameos and I can't remember them all but one example is Dorothy Dunnett's 'Comte de Sevigny' who appears in Dragonfly in Amber. I assume you did this out of respect and admiration. I would suggest to you that writers of Outlandish fan fic are motivated by the same reasons. Although maybe not anymore after this blog of yours."
I wonder if Diane Gabaldon expected such a furor? And now that it's happened, whether she'll take the coward's way out and simply delete her post?
Also, I love you guys. I love how fanfic readers and writers all unite in the face of adversity despite our OTP wars and such.
UPDATE: Take 2
Okay, what? When I click on "oldest" for comments, I see 360. When I click "newest," I get 237. Why can't I read everything?
Lulz--also just realized I participated in my very first fandom wank.
Just realized that the Holmes/Watson modern adaptation pops up in Psych and omg, if Shawn is Sherlock, the Lassiter must be Lestrade.
I, essentially, ship Sherlock Holmes and Lestrade.
Nooo~~~!!!
And yet, I can't handle Gus!Watson because to me, he's the asexual straight man in both meanings!
On an irl note, went to the Spring Internship and Career Fair and out of the 50 people I talked to, only 3 had job openings for an English/Graphic Design major. One of the jobs was a secretarial-type position anyone with a brain could do. All they want are economists, scientists, and engineers!
The only redeeming factor were a few neat freebies I got. XD
Later tonight I saw a free screening of The Cove. It was after an hour's performance by Ernie Haltar (who sounds a lot better than his myspace live songs), who I drew from my spot halfway up the lecture hall while he strummed his guitar and sang. I think I'll scan it in and e-mail it to him as a thank you for showing up at my uni. He gave us a rundown of his near future plans and that man's racking up a TON Of frequent-flyer miles.
The Cove... I can't really describe it. It's a heart-rending documentary that had me in tears, fuming in rage, squeeing at the cuteness, gasping at the horror, and crying again in sheer happiness because the making of this documentary has already made a difference. I recommend it immensely! It was violent, but hugely eye-opening. It's not a movie for children who just want to see the pretty dolphins, okay?
I, essentially, ship Sherlock Holmes and Lestrade.
Nooo~~~!!!
And yet, I can't handle Gus!Watson because to me, he's the asexual straight man in both meanings!
On an irl note, went to the Spring Internship and Career Fair and out of the 50 people I talked to, only 3 had job openings for an English/Graphic Design major. One of the jobs was a secretarial-type position anyone with a brain could do. All they want are economists, scientists, and engineers!
The only redeeming factor were a few neat freebies I got. XD
Later tonight I saw a free screening of The Cove. It was after an hour's performance by Ernie Haltar (who sounds a lot better than his myspace live songs), who I drew from my spot halfway up the lecture hall while he strummed his guitar and sang. I think I'll scan it in and e-mail it to him as a thank you for showing up at my uni. He gave us a rundown of his near future plans and that man's racking up a TON Of frequent-flyer miles.
The Cove... I can't really describe it. It's a heart-rending documentary that had me in tears, fuming in rage, squeeing at the cuteness, gasping at the horror, and crying again in sheer happiness because the making of this documentary has already made a difference. I recommend it immensely! It was violent, but hugely eye-opening. It's not a movie for children who just want to see the pretty dolphins, okay?
Supernatural is so flexible!
Apr. 3rd, 2010 03:20 amAwesome cutting and formatting work here:
Hm... I'm due for a rant sometime soon, aren't I? I haven't posted anything really meaningful recently.
But, oh well! On Sunday, a co-worker and I will watch How to Train a Dragon after a lunch of Thai and a stop at the local confectionery for FUDGE. With plans like this to look forward too, I'm feeling too good to rant.
The quarter's only started as well and every single class is fun and interesting! I'm doing well at work and while updating my resume so I could apply for that teaching ESL in Korea job, I've realized I've had enough jobs to merit a TWO-page resume! *beams*
Hm... I'm due for a rant sometime soon, aren't I? I haven't posted anything really meaningful recently.
But, oh well! On Sunday, a co-worker and I will watch How to Train a Dragon after a lunch of Thai and a stop at the local confectionery for FUDGE. With plans like this to look forward too, I'm feeling too good to rant.
The quarter's only started as well and every single class is fun and interesting! I'm doing well at work and while updating my resume so I could apply for that teaching ESL in Korea job, I've realized I've had enough jobs to merit a TWO-page resume! *beams*
Empty post is empty.
Apr. 1st, 2010 10:37 pmI have nothing creative to offer on behalf of April Fool's.
Welll... I had garlic mashed potatoes with Spam for dinner, does that count?
Welll... I had garlic mashed potatoes with Spam for dinner, does that count?
Politics is...
Mar. 25th, 2010 12:11 amThis Open Letter to Conservatives includes many links and actions I've seen true to many Republicans in the news.
Now I'm wondering, will any conservative blogger retaliate with a similar list to their political opponents?
Read a few particulars on the newly passed health bill and as a new-grad very unsure about her chances of getting a good job with benefits, I'm extremely relieved about the raising of the dependent children's age from 18 to 27. Hopefully, by 25, I'll be settled enough to not need it.
Now I'm wondering, will any conservative blogger retaliate with a similar list to their political opponents?
Read a few particulars on the newly passed health bill and as a new-grad very unsure about her chances of getting a good job with benefits, I'm extremely relieved about the raising of the dependent children's age from 18 to 27. Hopefully, by 25, I'll be settled enough to not need it.
WTF LJ? Clean out those trojan horses!
Mar. 13th, 2010 01:57 pmWhat is UP with LJ security? In the past 15 minutes, my Avast! has aborted THREE--count 'em, THREE--trojan horses that have popped up form LJ links. What worse is that one of the links I've visited without problem previously!
What the EFF, Livejournal? Get off your butts and SOLVE this thing.
Also guys, be careful!
What the EFF, Livejournal? Get off your butts and SOLVE this thing.
Also guys, be careful!
Ehhhh? I do not understand!
Mar. 12th, 2010 03:59 pmGakkted from animama who gakked it from someone else because she got "generic magical girl" and I was curious.
WTF, I'm not even female! If I had a love interest like Relena Peacecraft, I would run and never stop. Otherwise--no mercy!
animama who gakked it from someone else because she got "generic magical girl" and I was curious.I am the mission. |
 |
| You're a mecha pilot! |
You might be a sub-category of bishounen, but this hardly matters since you don't notice anything that didn't feature in the last edition of Guns'n'Ammo magazine. You have been trained since an unfeasibly early age to be a machine of death and destruction. If you've noticed an annoying girl following you around and repeatedly getting into danger and requiring rescue recently, run like hell - she's probably your love interest... Which generic anime character are you? |
WTF, I'm not even female! If I had a love interest like Relena Peacecraft, I would run and never stop. Otherwise--no mercy!
Men's Pair Figure Skating? WIN!
Feb. 19th, 2010 10:05 pmGuys, GUYS! Look what blythely found!
Isn't it the most adorable, hottest, AND beautiful picture you've ever seen?
\o/
(btw, for those not keeping up with the winter olympics, these two are America's Johnny Weir and Switzerland's Stephane Lambiel)
EDIT:
They're practicing! For a routine in Russia or such like! <3
blythely found!
Isn't it the most adorable, hottest, AND beautiful picture you've ever seen?
\o/
(btw, for those not keeping up with the winter olympics, these two are America's Johnny Weir and Switzerland's Stephane Lambiel)
EDIT:
They're practicing! For a routine in Russia or such like! <3
