Article: The Time Hayao Miyazaki Went Off on America
I cannot really blame young Hayao.Life’s still at it.
Feb. 12th, 2014 12:20 amTonight I realized that nearly 100% of my blog’s entries had been vandalized by spambots. And I just went through each of those entries to remove the injected links on Viagra, Cialis, Online Casinos, Live Sex, and so on. This much I care for my blog; and yet, for as much as I know myself to care, it took me weeks to notice the attack. And indeed, for as much as I care, I still have not really been updating this blog. It is sad, though I know no one comes around anymore.
So, here’s the thing: on the first week of March, this blog, and all of my other sites, may go down indefinitely. I just went back to the university, so, firstly, between a full-time job, what is left of a side job (freelance work), and my studies, I don’t have enough time to focus on my site projects anymore. I am not even playing video games, and I have nearly a hundred of them waiting for me to try them (thank you, oh Steam sales and Humble Bundles). Secondly, I need to cut down on expenses as much as possible. And thirdly, the computer I am currently using is not mine, and I am supposed to return it by the 21st of this month. I don’t know when I’ll get one of my own, nor how I’ll get my class assignments, quizzes and projects done in time, but there we go.
I have a lot on my plate right now, so I can’t, nor do I feel like summarizing these right now. But some good things have happened in the last year, and amidst what seems to be only misfortune right now, many more blessings are about to come in 2014.
Anyway… If you read this, wish me the best! Good things take time and much effort, so bring it on, life!
See you later. :)
Mirrored from Arwym's Domain.
My ponderings on Life, Part 1
Feb. 11th, 2014 11:18 pmIndeed, it is just life.
People around you often lead you to believe that there is only one or two ways to live life. There isn’t. There is an infinite array of paths you can take, and all it takes is to ignore your fears, embrace the unexpected, and just DO IT.
And for the last five years or so, that is what I have done. Many of the decisions I have taken have led me to dead ends or rather unpleasant grounds. I have had to turn around and start anew more times than I would have wished. I have disappointed more people than I, in my whole life, thought I ever could, all in less than five years. And I am still afraid, every time I do it, because of the people I will disappoint and the doors that will close forever. I am afraid to ruin everything, but that is because, it is at the most crucial points in my life, that I forget what life is.
Life is what you know, life is the moment. Life is what you are making of it at that time, and what may or may not come. And life is what others make of it for themselves, too. And even though your decisions may change a great deal of it, you are never in total control. And let us begin with the fact that you did not even choose to be born… or did you? (Damn, if only one could choose.) I have to tell myself that repeatedly, because in my arrogance, I continue to think that I am in control of everything. I can’t, and never will. I must learn to embrace the unexpected. And with this I am not saying that one should live without rules and goals. By all means, please do. But what if it doesn’t work? What if what your calculated outcomes never happen to come true? Or what if they do, but what feelings and ideas you thought you would have of them, are completely off? Then what? Well, if you can, turn around and move on.
Mirrored from Arwym's Domain.
(Mis)Pronunciation
Nov. 13th, 2013 07:47 pmThank you.
A great amount of people have criticized and questioned my ability to use English, myself included, because I do not know how to pronounce many of the words I have come to get familiar with.
Perhaps they think that everybody in this country, or just everybody anywhere, learns English from television programs and socializing with people who have lived surrounded by English and American pop culture, television and music their whole lives. (Most of these people are awesome, but there are also a bunch of pretentious, wanna-be-American assholes, or raised by such people.)
Well, it happens that my case is different: I learned English by reading and writing heavily on a daily basis during my pre-teen, teenage and young adult years, that I am still learning, and that I have never been a social person, especially during those formative stages of my life. I made my entry and acceptance of that world and its dominant language a little later.
So please get over it, and get used to the fact that I will continue making mistakes in my pronunciation for a long while. It cost me a great deal, but I already became used to it, and now I can enjoy my English a little more.
Mirrored from Arwym's Domain.
I am so excited about being able to watch this live, on YouTube, nonetheless. Don’t miss it, people! This is history!
Mirrored from Arwym's Domain.
On why I prefer to read eBooks now
Sep. 24th, 2012 10:50 am
By Maximilian Schönherr (Own work) - GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0), via Wikimedia Commons
My top reasons for choosing to read books in digital formats rather than the traditional print alternatives are as follow, in no particular order:
- Lack of more physical space
- Creative Commons, Public Domain and indie (independent) titles I could only get for free or at much lower prices if obtained as eBooks; some I just couldn’t find locally (no book store chains in Puerto Rico right now, since Borders closed). Check out Web sites such as Manybooks.net, Project Gutenberg, and Mobileread.com
- Many books and other types of publications that I wanted which only exist in digital formats; I can bundle Web comics as comic book archives or as epubs (Calibre!) and take them with me; I can create eBooks of Wikipedia articles for research or whatever other reasons, and keep reading while I am away from the computer; and so on…
- The ability to carry as many books and comics as I please with me at any time. I love to carry books and notebooks with me everywhere; my favorite companions!
- Ecological awareness (I really do care about this matter, and I believe we all should). We ought to take this seriously, because it is a problem that concerns us all.
I encourage you to try eReading yourself, if you haven’t already. And for any possible prejudices you may have about eReading, you should notice that now there is a bazillion alternatives. You can read from almost any modern gadget; from phones to tablets, specialized readers, and of course, personal computers. It’s up to you; now, if you want the experience to feel as close to the traditional as possible, go with an eReader. I currently own a Nook Simple Touch eReader, no glowlight, but I have a lamp to accompany me at night, and soon a booklight as well. I really enjoy the feel of the e-ink display.
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Plot Holes… Meh.
Sep. 23rd, 2012 08:51 pmSo how many plot holes, inconsistencies or plain logic fails is one really willing to ignore in a story/series for a few characters or things that the authors did manage to get right? I am considering that right now.
Because for as much as I love many things about The Vampire Diaries, I have been noticing a lot of mistakes lately, and my OCD is not taking it too well. XD But, this happens with almost every story. Very few series are 100% error-free; it’s just that, with the digital era and all, it’s so easy to get to rewatch old episodes and notice things you didn’t before, or to talk with those who did notice them.
Anyway, authors and directors and the like should really try being more careful with these things. We DO notice, you know!
Mirrored from Arwym's Domain.
Reminisce, don’t regret!
Jul. 28th, 2012 10:08 pmThose moments in life when you realize that, if you had met your old self and interacted with them as if they were somebody else, you probably would have detested, felt ashamed of, or at least pitied them. o.O
The greatest part about such moments, however, is that they prove you have changed; and rest assured, you’ll keep changing. And I believe that, as long as you keep growing up, it’s all fine.
Mirrored from Arwym's Domain.
An animated music video, titled ‘Dorothy.’ I wish it had been longer, but it’s still excellent. Sang by Yunyu, with art by Queenie Chan, and animation by theCommonist.
‘Dorothy’ Music Video Credits
Director: Darrel Chia Chee Sum
Producer: Issarapa Suetrong
CG Prod. Co.: theCommonist KL & Bkk
VFX / CG Supervisor: Apichart Noisuk, Tai Keck Yuen
Character Design: Darrel Chia, Apichart Noisuk, theCommonist
Story & World Concept: theCommonist
Project Manager: Kanittha Sriwiboon, Heng Choo ChianPreVis & Offline Editing: theCommonist
CG Artists: Chaiwat Leeponlasuk, Ek-isara Sareekom, Tu,
Rigger: Phop Wisedchitpol
Layout Artist: Anusart Sapcharoenchai
Animators: Chaiyapak Adireklap, Jiraporn Soonliang
SLR Artist: Nuttakorn Trivittayakorn
Lead Compositors: Apichart Noisuk, Tai Keck Yuen
Colorist & Online: Tai Keck YuenContains samples from John F. Kennedy Moon Speech – Rice Stadium September 12, 1962 Courtesy of AV archives of the JFK Library
Music by Yunyu
yunyu.com.au/
The music is not part of the Creative Commons License attributed to the video.
Mirrored from Arwym's Domain.
Ok, this looks indeed great. (Even with THAT actress as Snow White. >.>) But how come that, suddenly, after ABC’s Once Upon a Time started airing, we are getting a bunch of new Snow White adaptations? XD Or maybe the timing is just coincidental? There’s yet another movie coming, called “Mirror Mirror”, right?
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♥ It’s like a whole scene from the movie. Watch it!
Note: Merida undoubtedly reminds me of Taversia. XD
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Failed attempt at painting the horizon…
Feb. 25th, 2012 11:36 pmSomething I painted on Gimp 2.6.12 with Gimp Paint Studio (GPS) brushes and presets.
Mirrored from Arwym's Domain.
Hey, people!
If you get a chance, would you please sign this petition? :)
Thanks!
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All Against SOPA/PIPA: Joining the cause!
Jan. 15th, 2012 06:38 amIf you’re still unaware of what I’m talking about:
Everybody, did here), or temporarily censor it (see previous link for examples), talk to your friends and family about the subject, start a discussion in your respective online communities, share videos like the one above on the big social networks, sign a petition, etc.
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New page: my 3D renders!
Jan. 4th, 2012 08:17 pmHey there!
Please check out my new gallery for 3D renders, all made with DAZ Studio 4. I am new to this (trying again after like 3 years), so please bear with me as I learn the tricks. The second render is a great improvement over the first, I believe. And I am happy about that. :3
See ya around!
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Sigh… The FanPress Dilemma
Dec. 18th, 2011 12:31 amForwarded from the FanPress blog:
I am going to bug you once again about my need for more feedback, because the truth is that I really need it.
I worked tonight on a few, minor improvements to the plugin’s code. Also, I tried to reproduce the problem that some users have reported: not being able to save the fanlisting’s URL (a post metadata value that is essential for this plugin to work). However, I have been unable to. My own installations of FanPress work perfectly, all data being saved as it should. So, I need more people willing to install and try this plugin on their own WordPress environments, to gather more information about the problem and its source, and ultimately, try to resolve it.
To anybody who reads this, if you are a WordPress user, even if you’re not into fanlistings, I would appreciate that you helped me test this. I don’t want to release another version of FanPress until I have demystified this issue. If you decide to help, please contact me so we can exchange information.
Thank you in advance!
The thing is, I am frustrated. I haven’t been able to deliver the product that I wanted to, and that makes me feel bad for the people who were expecting it. This is not the first time I fail, and I want to do something that really works and can help others with similar interests and/or needs!
*Le sigh…*
Mirrored from Arwym's Domain.
Kylli is Dead flythrough on Vimeo
Nov. 4th, 2011 05:46 amMore Basara for meh!
Well, this is not my favorite song, but I gotta say this fit really well here, and the images and timing were perfect.
I LOVE YOU, BASARA! (And Yumi Tamura, for creating it!)
By the way: I am working on my own still-image music video with images from the manga and artbooks. I just had to do it. It’s my tribute to Basara’s awesomeness. Well, bye bye!
Mirrored from Arwym's Domain.