MILES to GO || before I sleep

The meme...dun dun dun da dun dun dun da da da da!

Yes, it's time for 30 Days of Sailor Moon, Day 12! It's the day after the iPad 2 launch and it's still crazy here at the Apple Store San Francisco. I've got a sore throat/cough and a sniffly/stuffed nose, but it's all good! I'm eating beef portobello with broccoli and potatoes for lunch, and it's comfort food of the healthy variety. Win!

Considering yesterday's topic, today's shouldn't be that much of a surprise. Wonder why the Outer System Senshi got this question before the Inner Senshi?

Once again, brought to you by Sailor Failures on Tumblr. Tumblr is a weird service, and even though I have one, I don't really (know how to) use it. I personally WANT to comment on things, and it bums me out when I can't. Sailor Moon Secrets being on Tumblr is cool, but it seems to take away the fun that the other fandom secrets comms have. Too bad the one on LJ has apparently died out? *shrug*

( ♥ » Day 12 – Favorite Inner Soldier (and why) )

You didn't think I forgot about this, did you?

Indeed, it's time for another day in the 30 Days of Sailor Moon meme, and I'm at last in the double digits!

( ♥ » Day 10 – Character you wish was a Soldier )

It's a little bit later than my usual posting for the 30 Days of Sailor Moon meme, brought to you by Sailor Failures on Tumblr, but that's because I have today off!

I've got lots to get done, so let's get this very interesting topic out of the way, shall we?

( ♥ » Day 08 – Favorite villain )

Can you tell that I like (parenthetical asides)?

Yay, I made it one week into the 30 Days of Sailor Moon meme, the same one found on Sailor Failures on Tumblr

( ♥ » Day 07 – Prettiest/most handsome character )

And now for one of my favorite topics in all of fandom...romance! 'Shipping! WAFF! TAFF! Orange Crush! (Hey, waitasec...)

Yes, it's time for the 30 Days of Sailor Moon meme once more, brought to you by Sailor Failures on Tumblr.

( ♥ » Day 05 – Best canon couple )

So it's Day 3/30 in my attempt at doing the 30 Days of Sailor Moon meme and it occurs to me that maybe I ought to make a tag exclusively for this? So I will, and I'll go re-tag the previous entries. All two of them. :P

( ♥ » Day 03 – Favorite character recently )

Well, it's a new month and a new opportunity to try new things and get back into the habit of old (good) things. Like writing on my blog. Like reminiscing. Like commenting with friends!

So, thanks to Sailor Failures on Tumblr, I'm going to spend the first 30 days of March participating in a Sailor Moon meme!

Some of this may be old news for folks that have read my journal(s) for some time, but hey! Nostalgia's fun!

( ♥ » Day 01 – What age you started watching Sailor Moon... )

Stolen shamelessly from frannyan. I don't know if there's more to this meme, but I'll do it if there is! :P

→ Take a screenshot of your desktop. (This is actually just one of FOUR desktops I have. But the other ones just have different wallpaper, not anything else...)

→ Take a screenshot your media player (if you have one up). (I finished my taxes and promptly looked up the "Victory Fanfare" from Final Fantasy V. Because my search wasn't specific, it brought up everything else with "Vict" in the title, which is why the Currently Playing is something from another video game. There's TuneUp to the right, with a bizarre cover art suggestion for a Fushigi Yuugi album that's missing art. I don't think Tasuki would like penguins...)

→ Take a screenshot of another program you have up. (This is Cyndicate, my new feed reader. Do I have too many feeds? I'm not even sure if it's working for LJ yet, picking up protected entries/saving cookies. I wish my custom RSS feed--made with an S2 style--would display authors properly, but I wouldn't know how to modify it to get it. Anyone have any ideas?)

→ Pick a tab you have up and take a screenshot of it. (This is a tab where I'm previewing a file I made in RapidWeaver. I liked the theme for "The Rose Chronicles," so I started trying to put it together as a fic site. Problem is, I don't much understand the plugins, so I'm not sure which one is best for a fanfic. Stacks? Blocks? Accordion? Also, the Carousel page I'm using for the Fanart is a little difficult to setup. For some reason some of the art displays to the right of the "page" content area, and some displays to the right. But isn't the thumbnail slider pretty?)

→ YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED TO CHANGE ANYTHING BEFORE TAKING A SCREENSHOT OF IT

I didn't! They're all just straight screenshots taken with SnapzProX. Does anyone know a screen capture tool which takes screencaps of the whole screen, even what's past the scrollbar? I thought Little Snapper did that, but I'm not sure how....

In a little under three hours my time (that'd be Pacific), it will be 2011. Depending on how you count, a new decade. A lot's happened in the past year, and of course, since 2001. And even though resolutions are easy to make and difficult to keep, I think I'd like to get more in the habit of at least writing them down (online) so I have a place to refer to when I'm floundering. There's always going to be a to-do list, but this list, if anything, is like a Wish List of To-Do in the next year...a self-imposed deadline.

(1) Move out. Whether I end up somewhere else in the Bay Area or the state of California or wherever, I do want to really be "on my own," without relying on some form of family or another to support me. It's not that family drives me crazy or anything (though it CAN), but I'm never going to learn if I don't take this fundamental first step.

(2) Pay off my debts. I don't know if it's possible to do in a year, but I'd like to think so. I already have 2 credit cards, one of which is pretty close to maxed out, despite its low APR and the fact that I rarely use it. The other's a department store AmEx with a ridiculously high APR, and I try not to use it if I can help it, but it, too, has almost reached its limit. I do my best to pay above the minimum every month, and I hope that, little by little, I can pay it off or get to a point when I can just pay the balances in one fell swoop.

(3) Have fun. I guess this is kind of an easy thing to say, and a not-so-easy thing to actually do...or to take for granted, maybe. But I'd like to look back on 2011 next year and think that I had a good time, somehow. Whether that means beating all my video games that I have yet to finish (Star Ocean: The Last Hope, Persona 2: Eternal Punishment, Kingdom Hearts Re:Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts II, I'm looking at you!), traveling more, or going to shows/concerts/what-have-you...or maybe even all of the above!...then I hope to do it.

(4) Keep learning. Hopefully I'll finish my second Bachelor's degree in Multimedia Design and Development, and actually see THAT take me places, along with my existing degree in Journalism. I don't want to think that learning--no matter where or how it's done--is a waste of time, but this whole DeVry thing and the accompanying mess has had me wonder for a while. I guess we'll see. Besides, no matter what, I can keep learning online, through my job, and through everyday life.

(5) Finish what I start! I can't just say "Finish What Doesn't Kill You and its ilk," because there's more to it than that: there are other multi-chapter fics, sites, programming languages/code (PHP and Joomla would be nice), crafting projects like paintings, sculptures, and scrapbooking...so much stuff that I've started at some point and not had the motivation or inspiration to finish. I really hope (nay, NEED) that changes in the coming year.

A lot's changed over the past year...things I'm really happy about, things I'm okay about (tentative or wary about), things that I wish had turned out differently, but I'd like to think I'm in a pretty good place right now. I'm extremely grateful that I have a roof over my head, food to eat and beverages to drink, a job I really enjoy that pays well and lets me learn and have fun at the same time. I've got awesome best friends, an incredible boyfriend, and a pretty supportive family. I'm healthy, educated, and probably more lucky than I could ever realize.

For me, I think 2010 was a year of ups and downs. I hope 2011 continues the positive trend that the end of 2010 has shown, and that any "blips" in my road are small, short-lived ones that only serve to help me continue growing.

So it's all David S.'s fault, I've started reading The Dresden Files novels by Jim Butcher. They're an excellent fantasy series, and I went from borrowing the first book ("Storm Front") to buying the second through fifth books and one of the graphic novels ("Welcome to the Jungle") at Borders. My goal is to have read all 12 books and hopefully the short stories collection, "Side Jobs," by March 29th, 2010, when the 13th book in the series comes out.

I know it was also a Sci-Fi Channel series (back when it was Sci-Fi, dammit, not Syfy and had wrestling and horrible Monster-of-the-Week B-movies on), so I've started watching that via Netflix.

Just in the first few minutes of the first episode, and I'm nagged by a few details...

( What's Bob got to do with it? )

Well, it's not half-bad, for a Dresden Files-BASED television series, short-lived though it may be. I'm not sure if the actor, while Harry-ish, fits my mental image of Harry Dresden, but he's not completely off the marker. And the music is cool. I might give this series a shot, but I'll keep reading the books first and foremost.

I do kind of want Dresden Files (book/comic/TV series) icons and/or wallpaper, though....

I love fanmixes. It's a fun way of telling a story, exploring a pairing, sharing your love for a fandom, and for discovering new music.

Alas, it's kind of a pain to organize said music, especially since everyone has their own methods. I tend to go with the flow--if stuff's already tagged/labeled and has the artwork attached, yay. If not, I'll add the bare minimum of what I care about and move on.

Here's where I run into trouble:
* If there's no genre and I don't know the artist, what do I do? You can pretty much create your own genres, and "Fanmix" is a valid genre in iTunes. Of course it doesn't say anything about the artist or the track itself.

* If a song is on two fanmixes, you can have multiple album artwork images embedded into the one song, but only one will display unless you switch it. It's easier to a) just have two of the same song or b) just not care about the artwork and swap it when you feel like it (if you remember). But the problem is, what if it's two fanmixes where the rest of the album information is intact? Marking it as a "Compilation" is technically inaccurate, since that term implies that there are various artists on a single ALBUM. The "Compilation" indicator has nothing to do with "Grouping," for example, which is what I use for fanmix tracks that already have the album information in there. So do I mark it as a NOT compilation, since iTunes' organizational method won't properly group everything from the Playlist/Grouping under one folder, anyway?

Right now I'm using the awesome (although somewhat unpretty) app "beaTunes 2" to help with my iTunes organizational woes. It inspects my iTunes library (which, by the way, is pretty darn huge) and looks up inconsistencies of all sorts, ranging from typos (REM versus R.E.M.) to those pesky Compilation tags on tracks with only one "Album" artist (Note: Not "Album Artist," but an "Artist" on one "Album").

It's not perfect; it thinks any and all albums called "Christmas Songs" are the same album, even if it's by multiple artists--as if it's a compilation album when it's not. It's just a million people have released "Christmas Songs" albums. Let's get creative here people, shall we?! Well, in the meantime, I can tell beaTunes 2 to ignore that.

But what do you do for organizing your fanmixes? How would you solve the above issues?

1. The Cinnamon Toast Crunch blog girl
While blogging about just about everything these days is popular, I don't know about a video blog (vlog) on a cereal. Parodying the idea would be one thing, except it's a stupid parody: the girl is a stereotypical geek and a klutz, too. (Maybe that's why it bothers me?!)

2. The Target "Hat" girl
A typical commercial that's way too blatant with its underlying message: "Buy our products and get the life you want!" Except it's ridiculous to fantasize about a HAT causing you to find a hot boyfriend, have a beautiful property with an orchard, and have perfect, well-behaved children. There's a fine line with the idea of a product enhancing your life in some way, and this commercial just crosses it and shoots off into outer space somewhere. This doesn't have even the tiniest idea that it could be a parody of commercials that do this more subtly (like car commercials), so I don't know wtf Target's ad agency was thinking.

3. Capital One with the actor who played George Costanza's father on Seinfeld
Capital One has funny commercials, especially their latest spate with the Vikings. Of course, my sense of humor is known to be very different from others, so who knows? But the idea of some old guy yelling at me about my credit card choice isn't very appetizing. He's not even very funny while employing the whole "loud old man with big opinions" schtick

Anyone have any commercials they just can't stand? I really wish I had DVR so I could just skip them, but I tend to watch a lot of shows randomly, too, and you can't really fast-forward through THOSE commercials, can you? It's too bad the quality that people strive for during the Super Bowl isn't something ad agencies attempt all year round.

So I'm happily stamping away at sailormoonland's stamping section for this Birthday Fortnight, and it occurs to me with some apps, people really have different views on which Sailor Senshi have what traits.

For example, when you think of Usagi/Serena/Sailor Moon, what traits does she have? What do you associate with her?

For me, it's:
Friendly - Lazy - Loyal - Idealistic - Determined - Crybaby - Foodie - Enthusiastic - Fearful... and so on.

Maybe you associate different words with her, or maybe you disagree with some of the above. What are your thoughts? I've decided to list the words I typically think of when considering a particular Senshi, but despite having seen/read the whole series, I think I'm missing out on a lot. For example, there are many traits that are more than the generic archetype that each of the girls fits into. The girls differ from the different kinds of canon, too: from anime to manga to PGSM to Sera Myu! I've tried to be basic, but I might still be forgetting/not considering some words. Help me out, here!

( MAKE...UP! )

And I frankly don't even know WHERE to begin with the Sailor Starlights. Any ideas for Yaten/Healer, Taiki/Maker, and Seiya/Fighter? I mean, I've seen the anime and read the manga, but what are traits particular in combination TO THEM?

Because praise motivates.

the ❝that's my favorite!❞ meme
A FANFICTION PRAISE MEME

For the next half hour or so, it's July 20.

For those that don't know (yet), July 20 is the day my older half-sister Michelle Elizabeth Smith died (fuck euphemisms). She fell from a cliff near Lands End in San Francisco, CA, which I consider my hometown, because I grew up here. (Michelle, being my half-sister, grew up partially in New York and partially in California.)

( Read more... )

I feel like I should recognize this name. Shame on me for not. Am I missing out?

So I never actually said what swag I got at Anime Expo! For me, at least, swag a big part of the con-going experience. Panels can be fun (or totally lousy, depending on scheduling, "technical difficulties" and other stupid things), and screenings can be a blast (or put you to sleep because there's no variety and the lines stink), but I mainly go to cons these days for the following things:
* Friends
* AMVs
* Swag
* Cosplay
in that order. All told, I "got" all of those things at Anime Expo, so you could say I had a good time.

( Swagalicious! )

So I'm overall satisfied with what I got, even though the Expo itself wasn't as good this year as last year. That's really a much longer story, but suffice it to say, they were just very disorganized. That makes people irritable and rude, and that makes other people miserable.

( To get...eventually )

So if you happen to be selling any of these or know where I can get them cheap, drop me a line!

So I threw my hat in the ring for the gulf_aid_now auction to help various relief efforts for the communities and areas affected by the Gulf Oil Spill.

Check out my thread in the fic post for a 1,500 word minimum fic from a variety of fandom(s). You can even request a crossover!

I might also volunteer to do a website layout and/or icons, other graphical stuff, but maybe I'll wait until a future round for graphics-related stuff.

Thought: what if someone were to bid and ask for the next chapter of WDKY? I mean, I have motivation to finish it anyway, but if said person donated a huge sum to my charity of choice (Greater New Orleans foundation, in case you're curious) and said "GIMME IT BEFORE JULY 31, WOMAN!" I think I would be more hard-pressed to get it done on time. :P Just throwing it out there....