Happy Nude Rears .... wait ... whut?!
Happy New Year! Somewhat late. *coughs* I had planned on a January 1st post, but it's been crazy. However, at least it's been crazy-in-a-good-way. X3 There's been family, there's been friends, and all in all, it's been an awesome way to start out the new decade.
Though, before I forget (seeing as, well, yet another year towards senility), here's some 2009 stuff:
All the Hikago fics this year were comment fics; I didn't have any "official" writings, which sort of made me sad. I was planning on working on a certain unfinished project *coughs* and I actually have perhaps, um, maybe ... havethenextpartsortareadyandwasgoingtopostitasaboxingdayfic ... but erm ... things got away from me. XD
But well, there were some interesting comment fics for Hikago:
Starting Rumors (2009, prompt from noctaval,"I don't want to start any blasphemous rumours but I think that God's got a sick sense of humour and when I die, I expect to find him laughing.")
Triangulated (2009, prompt from tarigwaemir, "Why can't we be ourselves like we were yesterday?")
And ... there's one or two more, I just have to find them. *makes flaily arms of ... fail. XD*
My two "officially" posted fics are for Mushishi, waaaaaay at the beginning of last year:
The Edible Nest (2009, written in response to tarigwaemir's prompt for Mushishi fic. Originally submitted to 31_days, prompt: The Language of Cities.)
summary: In the beginning, when we come -- we come into the world not knowing how to hear. Ginko follows the fox.
And for Konjiki no Gash Bell. Honestly, I didn't know I was going to write this one until I wrote it. XD It's not my best, but hey ... GASH FIC!
The Future Perfect, (2009, 31_days, prompt: Lost in a Dream from which I can't Awaken. Can be seen as a companion piece to "Past and Pending").
And there is, of course, a certain infamous comment fic for Shadow Hearts Covenant:
I'm Sorry, but Our Princess is in Another Castle! (2009, comment-fic, not betaed. This provides solid evidence that Imbrium is EVIL.)
But all in all, it's been a quiet year for writing. Lots of other things took up time; I started drawing (badly) again and I took up a new craft of bracelet making. Both are still growing strong ... the bracelet photographed up there is one of my new ones for the year. I can't tell if I'm getting better, but well ... it's still a lot of fun, so that's what matters, eh?
As for stuff I didn't finish, there's still two outstanding prompts from this post: Rockin' out to the 80's prompt list, mainly for sarasusa and yamina_chan. I haven't forgotten about you and I still lub you. I hope you still lub me.
I also still owe a certain Blind Go fic from .... great googly moogly, FOUR YEARS AGO. Um. It's still being worked on. Another "still being worked on" fic is a certain weather and kitsune fic. XD I feel so embarrassed *blushes*. It's been so long. I don't ever give up though ... I just dawdle in a sea of drafts. *sighs*
Hnn, best of 2009?
Best movies I've seen this year were definitely Up and Sherlock Holmes. I plan to write a longer review of the later; I've been a Holmes fan ever since I was a wee one, and surprisingly, Sherlock "with explosions" Holmes was really really good.
Strangely enough, I tend to judge adaptation of the Holmes canon by how the adapter treats Watson; in that respect, Guy Ritchie did an excellent job of excising the old "bumbling, slightly roundish, idiotic sidekick" version presented by the Basil Rathbone era of Holmes. More later; since the movie just came out, I don't want to spoil anyone.
Up was in a different class ... and I liked it on two different levels. I really admired the artistry of the animation, but more than that, I was impressed by how, in the first ten minutes (that everyone, of course, talks about), it really transcends the animation field so that it ... doesn't ... feel like it's supposed to be an animation, as many animations (especially those "directed" at kids) do. I know I'm not putting it into the correct words ... but when a story is good, for me, I forget the medium it's in, and just get absorbed in the experience. I forget I'm watching a movie or reading a book; I'm just there in the moment. So even when I watched it in 3-D, I totally forgot about the 3-D. XD
I also bought it for my mom for Christmas. And ... watching it with my aging parents ... that was another experience. They got awful quiet during certain scenes. And none of us could look at each other, because of the sniffling. *gulps* But, yeah. Good stuff. (Then again, my family all went to Sherlock Holmes too and had a good time ... I think, for me, the movie experience is best put as Good Movie + Good People I'm with - Noisy Patrons - Exorbitant prices + how many explosions/sniffly moments = AWESOME!) Heh heh heh.
Best book(s) of 2009 ... Hmmm. I actually read a lot of books in 2009, but I think it comes down to the "Night Watch" series for the best new ideas and for making me think.
Best new young adult series I've come across was the Hunger Games Trilogy, by Suzanne Collins. It has its flaws, but I think it posits an interesting new world, and hey, social commentary! The second book didn't make me as happy as the first, and it was a little predictable, but I like the blurring of gender roles.
However, worst book I read in 2009 had to be The Historian. GAAAH. I swear, I'm tired of vampires. Bring on the werewolf pirates, please.
Best game I played in 2009 was Shadow Hearts: Covenant. It has a very twisted sense of humor, a surprisingly touching plot, and an really good cast. It also has the BEST MALE LEAD EVER IN A GAME. He's not jailbait, he's not emo, and he's funny (and not bad looking either).
However, currently I'm stuck in a game called Pikmin. Send help. It's pretty good too, though hella hard.
Best Fanfiction I read this year? I didn't read much this year, actually, but .... I'll have to get back to that. I did read in a wider range of fandoms this year (and the newest Sherlock Holmes left me ... actually ... wanting ... fanfiction?! GAAAH!). But yeah, I think a rec list is due soon.
Finally, best thing I did this year ... probably survive. XD It's been quite a ride.
As for bracelet making, my best bracelet was probably the leaf one I just finished less than two hours ago. XD (Hehe, usually, my favorite piece of jewelery happens to be whatever shiny thing I'm working on at the moment.) I think I've gotten better at steampunk though.
Best thing I wrote ... is the one I can't put up. Yet. (um, sorry for the tease. But it's not ready. XP)
The best thing I drew (and this is relatively speaking, of course, since I don't draw well) is ... strangely enough ... probably the picture of Kiyomaro's book. XD I think I just had a lot of fun playing with the lighting.
Finally, I think it's good to have some goals for the new year (heh), so here are my resolutions.
Of a sort.
A friend of mine suggest instead of doing a targeted resolution (such as "I want to lose twenty pounds by September"), it might be easier to do a theme. And I agree with her; I think change comes easier when I first work on the way I *think* about something.
So instead of saying "I want to lose twenty pounds" or "I have to write XXX amount of words or stories" -- and thus getting really upset when I don't hit those goals exactly (as has happened year after year), I'm going to try to work on the way I think about two things.
I'm going to aim to have a healthier mindset -- this includes how I think about myself emotionally and how I'm going to treat myself physically.
That is, ideally, before I get on the elevator, I'll ask myself: why not the stairs?
Or before I get too angry with myself with a problem, I'll ask myself if anger really is going to be productive or is it going to lead to another "oops, my shoe is now stuck in a hole" incident?"
(This, of course, is easier said than done. *sighs* BUT WELL, I shall try!)
For my creative goal, I think I'm going to aim for simplification in making my jewelry, and see how that theme carries throughout the other creative impulses. I make really elaborate jewelry, so the back to basics approach should be a challenge. This includes thinking about how "what I don't see" adds to the experience of what is already there.
Like I said, I think it'll work well in my writing and drawing too. XD
Wheeew, long post is LOOOOOONG! But well, here's hoping that the holidays were good to you. Share your resolutions with me ... we'll commiserate together! And, of course, much love, luck and lollipops to all of us in the coming year!! Woohoo! 2010!
-muri