Epic lj post of epic
Being too lazy to post frequently means that you get these retarded epics instead TT__TT;;
This is what happens when you haven't posted in ... HOLY CRAP, IT'S BEEN A MONTH?
o_0
I guess twitter has been getting all of my love :(
So, I'll try to sort things under cuts, I guess.
And then we will never do this again.
Just like the not putting on of suncream, which lead to Cake getting burnt and then peeling over Christmas >_________<
Oh, first thing's first:
What are peoples opinions on paid accounts versus (fairly old) basic non-upgraded accounts??
I got one of those dandy $10 paid upgrade vouchers from finding_jay, but I am suspicious of something that will automatically take the payments out of my account (granted, it's only once a year, and it's only US$20, but still).
Do people see ads on my page now?
Do I need the extra userpics?
Are there any major benefits that I shouldn't be living without?
(actually, I would like to be able to set things up such that my tweets post here too, but last time I checked - a while ago - only paid users could have external things posting to their lj).
Anywho.
*goes to check calendar~*
I have socialised a darn lot
I took the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) level 3 - results come out around Feb. I think I did okay?
Have had Sensei's amazing okonomiyaki :D Also went to karaoke!! My first time (except for once or twice when I was in Japan). It was very fun~~ And I got to see old friends :)
Have been sewing a little, but have yet to complete a garment TT_TT;; (but I bought even moar fabric today!)
Also spent a lot of time creating Christmas presesnts for people, which was fun! But my glue-gun is horrid to use, since it's kind of broken.
I'm currently writing an amazing/horrible (original) story about a visual-kei band (as one of the presents), which has been really fun! It was very spontaneous, but I'm trying to make it at least not painful to read (although it is kind of cracky). Will post the chapters once it's done and has been given to its recipient.
I completely failed to go to the swing Christmas party that I was pushing everyone to go to, because I am lame.
So currently, Cake is feeling like a blob, after over-eating for a couple of days, not ingesting any vegetables over that same period and not doing anything physical either ~_~
But Christmas was lots of fun!
Well, actually, it was a little bit boring, but I got my suitcase I asked for!
Which is also boring >_________<
(Gone is my childhood. Who is this person asking for suitcases instead of toys?)
But it's pretty! It has polkadots and pink bows! And it's light! (the lightest in the world, according to the label). Other xmas loot included an awesome Holic novel, amazing truffles, cake lipgloss and DOMO-KUN :D
(but lazy Cake is lazy and hasn't seen any Domo-kun animations or anything).
Now I'm looking forward to New Year's Eve (why?) and the release of Jubilee and the release of The Princess and the Frog :D
Speaking of The Princess and the Frog: it's released on January first, and I was wondering... is anyone interested in going to see it that afternoon?
We could dress up....
Y/N?
(Y/Y)
Next:
☆Man fitted with bionic eye can see again, yay
☆pretty, close-up photos of bugs, which I usually dislike because they are gross, but these are kind of cool?
☆A really amazing marriage proposal - it's a blog entry by an artist, who explains how he came up with a really cool picture to propose to his lady ♥
☆THE LHC. Will the Large Hadron Collider ever not be awesome? (Is Pluto a planet? Okay, that doens't work as well as "Is the Pope a Catholic?").
☆note_to_cat a sweet comm where people leave sad, warm and fuzzy, touching or just pissed notes to their cats. Btw, I found it about a week or two before it was featured in the lj newsletter, thank you.
☆A schoolbus for Shamsia - a really amazing article from the New York Times about the struggle of people oppressed by the Taliban, to educate their women. Specifically about the students from one particular school who had acid thrown on them - this is not uncommon at all. The story is all hopeful and inspiring though, as the students want to go to school (and are willing to risk their lives to do so), so do the parents, so do many (or most?) of the people being oppressed.
I actually found this article through links from an article goldfoil linked me, about women from around the same area/country who routinely have acid thrown on them for things like refusing marriage proposals. It's absolutely disgusting and horrid and if the victims live through this painful ordeal, they are hugely and permanently disfigured.
☆recreating childrens' drawings - Yeondoo Jung gets kids drawings and tries to recreate them in real life and take a photo (weird perspective and all). The results are lovely and charming.
☆Eric - a picture story by Shaun Tan. A charming anecdote about an exchange student who comes to stay, accompanied by amazing graphite pencil illustrations.
☆Scientist discovers new way to repair damaged nerves.
☆Yay! Science themed gingerbread cookies!
☆hilarious billboard of Mary and Joseph after sex "Poor Joseph - God was a hard act to follow". Put up by a progressive Catholic (whatever that is). LMAO.
☆Alan Moore schoolgirl comic.
I'll repeat that again: Alan Moore schoolgirl comic.
You crazy doujin artists o_0
pictures of the artwork
☆article about a girl with really severe amnesia, which she received after a mild concussion during basketball. She forgot everything - who she was, her friends and family, even basic concepts such as speaking and what school is (which is very unusual indeed).
☆Art sculpture toy things
Today's deviant artists are:
CaptainArdi - a pretty neat artist (draws in anime style) with a nice thick painting style and some cool character designs.
Phantomorchid - An amazing fashion photographer who takes photos mostly for latex and couture models. So delicious!!
And now for the bandwidth demons:
I'm sure you've seen this by now, but
SURPRISED KITTY
I have no words. At all.
*DIES IN A PUDDLE*
This is basically the cutest thing anyone can see,ever.
Amazing Irish ad. I really, really like this ad.
Sinead's Hand
TED Talk: Another one of those really cool design talks!
This one is about stopping the encroachment of sand dunes in the Sahara, by using the sand itself.
I really love how useful, innovative and elegant these designs are. Did I link that other guy with the white-noise ball and the toxic-sucking plants and the athsma inhaler lung?
Tongues, tongues, tongues, and testicles:
Burger Song
Lorraine Bowen Experience | MySpace Music Videos
By the Fabulous Lorrain (who is also Neil Gaiman's assistant).
You've heard her lovely apple crumble song, too, right?
Small proto-human singing a Ben Lee song and playing ukelele
Pretty cute kid.
Versaille's new PV: Serenade
A heart tinged with sorrow.
That's how I felt after hearing/seeing this. I was melancholy all afternoon, actually.
the translated lyrics.One can't help but think of Jasmine.
Beautiful.
Commence actual fangirling:
wtf, Yuki only got about three shots, and one of those was really a shot of Kamijo.
Also, squee, there was some crazy you-have-to-read-into-it Kamijo/Hizaki in there.
And a lot of Hizaki with not an equal amount of Teru :(((
Even on the website, the new header - there are only four people. It really feels jarring and heartbreaking in a subtle way to see only four people. I keep seeing things (like the poster that will be mailed with the CD) and each time it still unsettles me.
Also: violin solo is new. ...is good.
Also also: Teru-kun... um... does he really play the piano?
Actually, I've always wondered if Kamijo does - it just seems like something that's natural to assume.
Anyway, I'm still really excited about Jubilee (although I've been waaaaaaay too lazy and haven't bothered to listen to the sample songs up on the website yet). Also, Versailles got a twitter account, yay~~
I'm so happy that they're moving forward - they are most certainly doing well, from what I can see.
Can't wait til I go to Japan again, so I can kidnap Teru-kun forever. I'll work out the actual details later, right? Maybe I'll just pay up some yakuza or something....
Also, Versailles left a comment on CDJapan's website.
You bunch of dorks XD I love you so much!
I actually was going pretty well and understood all of it until about half way.... >__<
Short (shadowpuppet) animation about a bunny's Christmas ♥
squee :3
Another animation. This one is a fantastic book-art/paper animation to promote some book awards or something in New Zealand. The narration/reading is beautiful.
I'M ON A BOAT: Navy version. I guess they have a looooot of time on their hands....
That's about all, for that. I think I'll start posting deviant artists again. Also, will start posting in my Ameblo from January 1.
Last and least, I wrote a letter to the government the other week about internet censorship in Australia.
And then I read this article about how pointless my letter was, and how much more effort and less ignorance I would need to actually make a difference TT____TT;;
Anyway, if anyone wants to know about my feelings on the topic, here's the letter:
email Senator Conroy with your opinion: http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/SaveTheNet&id=892 #nocleanfeed
Dear Senator Conroy,
I would like to strongly oppose the current (or any) plans for censorship of the internet in Australia at any sort of blanket level (e.g. by ISP's) by the Government.
I feel very strongly that this is highly unnecessary, will be harmful to the general public and raises serious concerns about privacy and freedom of speech for all Australians. No fool-proof or even moderately difficult method of censorship ever been developed, for a start, indicating that this venture would be a complete waste of time. There is no way to integrate censorship into what is becoming a highly cross-application and cross-platform medium (for example embedded video clips, online gaming, flash application, social networking websites). This would also cost a huge amount of money, which should be spent on other things, and not something unnecessary.
Furthermore, blanket internet censorship discourages parents from properly educating both themselves and their children about safety on the internet, lulling them into a false sense of security. I believe a better alternative is to put more funding into education, as being safe on the internet is very easy to learn and simple to do.
Also, the number of websites created on the internet every hour of every day is quite phenomenal, and it is literally impossible to police or even review them all. Having a blacklist or a white list is not the answer, especially as what is or is not appropriate for children to view is a matter of opinion, and therefore personal (or political) interest will influence or determine which websites are on these lists. This is of major concern - for example if conservative political group happens to have power over the types of websites blocked we may see legitimate websites, such as those on sexual health or abortion, blocked. Even if one can petition to have their particular website unblocked, this will take long periods of time and possibly money and they may even be deliberately ignored with no higher or alternative authority to turn to.
There are many alternatives to internet censorship, such as censorship at the level of individual households - which is already available, including software already provided by the government. This is a much better alternative, as it enables parents to judge what is suitable for their child to view on the internet, just as they can judge which books their child can read (rather than banning half the books available at libraries) and which television programmes their child can watch (rather than having a mandatory ban on all shows with a rating higher than PG). It is not the government’s place in any way to determine what an adult should or should not be able to view, which is what mandatory internet censorship would amount to.
In short, I believe there is no possible way internet censorship could work and will be impossible to implement, for a number of reasons, and that this will waste tens of millions of dollars better spent educating the public on internet use instead. I believe blocking websites could very easily lead to particular interests influencing the types of websites blocked and there will be serious breaches of freedom of speech. I am not the only person in Australia who thinks this way, but part of an intelligent majority prepared to stand up for my rights.
The end!
x___x;;
This is what happens when you haven't posted in ... HOLY CRAP, IT'S BEEN A MONTH?
o_0
I guess twitter has been getting all of my love :(
So, I'll try to sort things under cuts, I guess.
And then we will never do this again.
Just like the not putting on of suncream, which lead to Cake getting burnt and then peeling over Christmas >_________<
Oh, first thing's first:
What are peoples opinions on paid accounts versus (fairly old) basic non-upgraded accounts??
I got one of those dandy $10 paid upgrade vouchers from finding_jay, but I am suspicious of something that will automatically take the payments out of my account (granted, it's only once a year, and it's only US$20, but still).
Do people see ads on my page now?
Do I need the extra userpics?
Are there any major benefits that I shouldn't be living without?
(actually, I would like to be able to set things up such that my tweets post here too, but last time I checked - a while ago - only paid users could have external things posting to their lj).
Anywho.
*goes to check calendar~*
I have socialised a darn lot
I took the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) level 3 - results come out around Feb. I think I did okay?
Have had Sensei's amazing okonomiyaki :D Also went to karaoke!! My first time (except for once or twice when I was in Japan). It was very fun~~ And I got to see old friends :)
Have been sewing a little, but have yet to complete a garment TT_TT;; (but I bought even moar fabric today!)
Also spent a lot of time creating Christmas presesnts for people, which was fun! But my glue-gun is horrid to use, since it's kind of broken.
I'm currently writing an amazing/horrible (original) story about a visual-kei band (as one of the presents), which has been really fun! It was very spontaneous, but I'm trying to make it at least not painful to read (although it is kind of cracky). Will post the chapters once it's done and has been given to its recipient.
I completely failed to go to the swing Christmas party that I was pushing everyone to go to, because I am lame.
So currently, Cake is feeling like a blob, after over-eating for a couple of days, not ingesting any vegetables over that same period and not doing anything physical either ~_~
But Christmas was lots of fun!
Well, actually, it was a little bit boring, but I got my suitcase I asked for!
Which is also boring >_________<
(Gone is my childhood. Who is this person asking for suitcases instead of toys?)
But it's pretty! It has polkadots and pink bows! And it's light! (the lightest in the world, according to the label). Other xmas loot included an awesome Holic novel, amazing truffles, cake lipgloss and DOMO-KUN :D
(but lazy Cake is lazy and hasn't seen any Domo-kun animations or anything).
Now I'm looking forward to New Year's Eve (why?) and the release of Jubilee and the release of The Princess and the Frog :D
Speaking of The Princess and the Frog: it's released on January first, and I was wondering... is anyone interested in going to see it that afternoon?
We could dress up....
Y/N?
(Y/Y)
Next:
☆Man fitted with bionic eye can see again, yay
☆pretty, close-up photos of bugs, which I usually dislike because they are gross, but these are kind of cool?
☆A really amazing marriage proposal - it's a blog entry by an artist, who explains how he came up with a really cool picture to propose to his lady ♥
☆THE LHC. Will the Large Hadron Collider ever not be awesome? (Is Pluto a planet? Okay, that doens't work as well as "Is the Pope a Catholic?").
☆note_to_cat a sweet comm where people leave sad, warm and fuzzy, touching or just pissed notes to their cats. Btw, I found it about a week or two before it was featured in the lj newsletter, thank you.
☆A schoolbus for Shamsia - a really amazing article from the New York Times about the struggle of people oppressed by the Taliban, to educate their women. Specifically about the students from one particular school who had acid thrown on them - this is not uncommon at all. The story is all hopeful and inspiring though, as the students want to go to school (and are willing to risk their lives to do so), so do the parents, so do many (or most?) of the people being oppressed.
I actually found this article through links from an article goldfoil linked me, about women from around the same area/country who routinely have acid thrown on them for things like refusing marriage proposals. It's absolutely disgusting and horrid and if the victims live through this painful ordeal, they are hugely and permanently disfigured.
☆recreating childrens' drawings - Yeondoo Jung gets kids drawings and tries to recreate them in real life and take a photo (weird perspective and all). The results are lovely and charming.
☆Eric - a picture story by Shaun Tan. A charming anecdote about an exchange student who comes to stay, accompanied by amazing graphite pencil illustrations.
☆Scientist discovers new way to repair damaged nerves.
☆Yay! Science themed gingerbread cookies!
☆hilarious billboard of Mary and Joseph after sex "Poor Joseph - God was a hard act to follow". Put up by a progressive Catholic (whatever that is). LMAO.
☆Alan Moore schoolgirl comic.
I'll repeat that again: Alan Moore schoolgirl comic.
You crazy doujin artists o_0
pictures of the artwork
☆article about a girl with really severe amnesia, which she received after a mild concussion during basketball. She forgot everything - who she was, her friends and family, even basic concepts such as speaking and what school is (which is very unusual indeed).
☆Art sculpture toy things
Today's deviant artists are:
CaptainArdi - a pretty neat artist (draws in anime style) with a nice thick painting style and some cool character designs.
Phantomorchid - An amazing fashion photographer who takes photos mostly for latex and couture models. So delicious!!
And now for the bandwidth demons:
I'm sure you've seen this by now, but
SURPRISED KITTY
Click to viewI have no words. At all.
*DIES IN A PUDDLE*
This is basically the cutest thing anyone can see,ever.
Amazing Irish ad. I really, really like this ad.
Sinead's Hand
TED Talk: Another one of those really cool design talks!
This one is about stopping the encroachment of sand dunes in the Sahara, by using the sand itself.
I really love how useful, innovative and elegant these designs are. Did I link that other guy with the white-noise ball and the toxic-sucking plants and the athsma inhaler lung?
Tongues, tongues, tongues, and testicles:
Burger Song
Lorraine Bowen Experience | MySpace Music Videos
By the Fabulous Lorrain (who is also Neil Gaiman's assistant).
You've heard her lovely apple crumble song, too, right?
Small proto-human singing a Ben Lee song and playing ukelele
Pretty cute kid.
Versaille's new PV: Serenade
A heart tinged with sorrow.
That's how I felt after hearing/seeing this. I was melancholy all afternoon, actually.
the translated lyrics.One can't help but think of Jasmine.
Beautiful.
Commence actual fangirling:
wtf, Yuki only got about three shots, and one of those was really a shot of Kamijo.
Also, squee, there was some crazy you-have-to-read-into-it Kamijo/Hizaki in there.
And a lot of Hizaki with not an equal amount of Teru :(((
Even on the website, the new header - there are only four people. It really feels jarring and heartbreaking in a subtle way to see only four people. I keep seeing things (like the poster that will be mailed with the CD) and each time it still unsettles me.
Also: violin solo is new. ...is good.
Also also: Teru-kun... um... does he really play the piano?
Actually, I've always wondered if Kamijo does - it just seems like something that's natural to assume.
Anyway, I'm still really excited about Jubilee (although I've been waaaaaaay too lazy and haven't bothered to listen to the sample songs up on the website yet). Also, Versailles got a twitter account, yay~~
I'm so happy that they're moving forward - they are most certainly doing well, from what I can see.
Can't wait til I go to Japan again, so I can kidnap Teru-kun forever. I'll work out the actual details later, right? Maybe I'll just pay up some yakuza or something....
Also, Versailles left a comment on CDJapan's website.
You bunch of dorks XD I love you so much!
I actually was going pretty well and understood all of it until about half way.... >__<
Short (shadowpuppet) animation about a bunny's Christmas ♥
squee :3
Another animation. This one is a fantastic book-art/paper animation to promote some book awards or something in New Zealand. The narration/reading is beautiful.
I'M ON A BOAT: Navy version. I guess they have a looooot of time on their hands....
That's about all, for that. I think I'll start posting deviant artists again. Also, will start posting in my Ameblo from January 1.
Last and least, I wrote a letter to the government the other week about internet censorship in Australia.
And then I read this article about how pointless my letter was, and how much more effort and less ignorance I would need to actually make a difference TT____TT;;
Anyway, if anyone wants to know about my feelings on the topic, here's the letter:
email Senator Conroy with your opinion: http://www.getup.org.au/campaign/SaveTheNet&id=892 #nocleanfeed
Dear Senator Conroy,
I would like to strongly oppose the current (or any) plans for censorship of the internet in Australia at any sort of blanket level (e.g. by ISP's) by the Government.
I feel very strongly that this is highly unnecessary, will be harmful to the general public and raises serious concerns about privacy and freedom of speech for all Australians. No fool-proof or even moderately difficult method of censorship ever been developed, for a start, indicating that this venture would be a complete waste of time. There is no way to integrate censorship into what is becoming a highly cross-application and cross-platform medium (for example embedded video clips, online gaming, flash application, social networking websites). This would also cost a huge amount of money, which should be spent on other things, and not something unnecessary.
Furthermore, blanket internet censorship discourages parents from properly educating both themselves and their children about safety on the internet, lulling them into a false sense of security. I believe a better alternative is to put more funding into education, as being safe on the internet is very easy to learn and simple to do.
Also, the number of websites created on the internet every hour of every day is quite phenomenal, and it is literally impossible to police or even review them all. Having a blacklist or a white list is not the answer, especially as what is or is not appropriate for children to view is a matter of opinion, and therefore personal (or political) interest will influence or determine which websites are on these lists. This is of major concern - for example if conservative political group happens to have power over the types of websites blocked we may see legitimate websites, such as those on sexual health or abortion, blocked. Even if one can petition to have their particular website unblocked, this will take long periods of time and possibly money and they may even be deliberately ignored with no higher or alternative authority to turn to.
There are many alternatives to internet censorship, such as censorship at the level of individual households - which is already available, including software already provided by the government. This is a much better alternative, as it enables parents to judge what is suitable for their child to view on the internet, just as they can judge which books their child can read (rather than banning half the books available at libraries) and which television programmes their child can watch (rather than having a mandatory ban on all shows with a rating higher than PG). It is not the government’s place in any way to determine what an adult should or should not be able to view, which is what mandatory internet censorship would amount to.
In short, I believe there is no possible way internet censorship could work and will be impossible to implement, for a number of reasons, and that this will waste tens of millions of dollars better spent educating the public on internet use instead. I believe blocking websites could very easily lead to particular interests influencing the types of websites blocked and there will be serious breaches of freedom of speech. I am not the only person in Australia who thinks this way, but part of an intelligent majority prepared to stand up for my rights.
The end!
x___x;;