Can you tellll that I'm trying to reach my tenth post for the month?
I'll just do a random update this time.
Yeesh, I was sick last month, and I'm still fighting out this last sick. It's rare that I get sick twice in a row.
I'm feeling a lot better today, though I'm still coughing and chugging tea with honey. But when I woke up my voice was not working. It sounds pitiful and almost squeaky, and sometimes no sound comes out.
But yeah. Thank you for not doing this during my speech @_@
Hopefully I'll be able to talk tomorrow.
~*~
Sunday, April 30, 2017
The List That Never Grows Shorter
As I edit Katani's story, I have a list of things to address.
Some of those bullet points have been there for a while, either because I want to keep them in mind, or because I think they need more work.
When I think a bullet point has been thoroughly covered, I cross it out. And I'll add new stuff as I think of it.
It seems like my list should be shorter the more I red through my story. But I can't help feeling that it's only getting longer...
Some of those bullet points have been there for a while, either because I want to keep them in mind, or because I think they need more work.
When I think a bullet point has been thoroughly covered, I cross it out. And I'll add new stuff as I think of it.
It seems like my list should be shorter the more I red through my story. But I can't help feeling that it's only getting longer...
The Debate Between Double and Single Spacing
So, you're typing along, and you get to the end of a sentence. You finish up with a . or a !, ?, or "
And then you hit the space bar before continuing to the next sentence.
But do you hit the space bar once or twice?
I learned to hit the space bar twice, and that's what I've been doing for years.
I heard a while ago that publishers, for example, don't like single spacing. But it's easy enough to use the replace function to swap double and single spaces, so I stored it in my mind, and didn't really do anything about it.
But last month I heard that things are changing more to single spacing. The double spacing came from type writers. But computers automatically add enough space after a sentence that you only have to push the space bar once.
This bit of info intrigued me, so I did a bit of digging. Apparently there's huge debate about whether to single or double space.
But since the industry I'm interested in goes for single spacing, that's what I'll try to do.
I'm training myself to single space my sentences. I think it's finally starting to sink in.
And then you hit the space bar before continuing to the next sentence.
But do you hit the space bar once or twice?
I learned to hit the space bar twice, and that's what I've been doing for years.
I heard a while ago that publishers, for example, don't like single spacing. But it's easy enough to use the replace function to swap double and single spaces, so I stored it in my mind, and didn't really do anything about it.
But last month I heard that things are changing more to single spacing. The double spacing came from type writers. But computers automatically add enough space after a sentence that you only have to push the space bar once.
This bit of info intrigued me, so I did a bit of digging. Apparently there's huge debate about whether to single or double space.
But since the industry I'm interested in goes for single spacing, that's what I'll try to do.
I'm training myself to single space my sentences. I think it's finally starting to sink in.
Wednesday, April 26, 2017
Environmental Fiction: A Call to Action
I had my speech today!
But before I get to the speech, I'll start from the beginning.
Yesterday afternoon, I noticed that my throat was starting to feel scratchy, which immediately made me concerned. By the end of the night it was so bad that swallowing made me grimace in pain.
Despite my dislike of taking medicine, I took a painkiller before bed. But I don't think it helped at all because I woke up each time I swallowed. It felt like swallowing a freaking knife.
Man, I'm so tired right now...
Needless to say, I was terrified that I would lose my voice before my speech.
So when I woke up, I was relived that my voice sounded normal despite stabbing pans when I swallowed XD
So, I took some drugs (and by that I mean cold medicine, but I've already mentioned my dislike of taking medicine), drank a huge mug of tea with honey, and nursed a cough drop during the drive to campus.
By the time we got there, swallowing only brought minor discomfort, so thank god for that (and I kept my hands clean and tried not to touch anything, in case what I had was catching @_@ )
Luckily they had juice/punch there, which also felt nice on my throat.
I had asked to give my speech first, so my Mom could come (she had to teach later in the day).
I think I did a good job. I only had to look at my notes a couple times, aside from my reading sample.
I didn't talk too fast, which was good. That was one of the main things I wanted to fix, aside from glancing at my notes too often.
I think the next thing to work on is looking at the audience instead of just staring blankly in front of me. And smiling more. I'm interested to see if I looked really solemn while I was speaking.
I didn't get nervous at all either. The closest I got was a slight hesitation in one or two spots.
I talked about my project, and read a page from my graduate story. I also talked some about environmental fiction in general.
Ten minutes of talking, five minutes of questions.
I got some good questions,and I think people were interested in what I was saying.
They took a video of it, so I'll try to share that once it's uploaded. And of course once that's out, I'll start critiquing my presentation. Heh.
Aah, man I'm so relieved i made it through with my throat all in one piece. It still feels better, so hopefully I'll be able to sleep normally tonight.
It was a nice event, and I'm definitely glad I went. It's only the second annual one they've done, so it looks like they're going to keep growing it from here.
Man, I'm so tired. But it's early enough that I don't think I'll be able to fall asleep. Maybe I'll actually watch a bit of anime, which I haven't done in ages.
I was looking forward to doing a bunch of writing today, but the level of editing I'm doing now requires more focus than I really feel up to. Maybe I'll do some simpler writing on a different project. I might even write a bit of a fanfic I'm hoping to renew, just for fun.
But before I get to the speech, I'll start from the beginning.
Yesterday afternoon, I noticed that my throat was starting to feel scratchy, which immediately made me concerned. By the end of the night it was so bad that swallowing made me grimace in pain.
Despite my dislike of taking medicine, I took a painkiller before bed. But I don't think it helped at all because I woke up each time I swallowed. It felt like swallowing a freaking knife.
Man, I'm so tired right now...
Needless to say, I was terrified that I would lose my voice before my speech.
So when I woke up, I was relived that my voice sounded normal despite stabbing pans when I swallowed XD
So, I took some drugs (and by that I mean cold medicine, but I've already mentioned my dislike of taking medicine), drank a huge mug of tea with honey, and nursed a cough drop during the drive to campus.
By the time we got there, swallowing only brought minor discomfort, so thank god for that (and I kept my hands clean and tried not to touch anything, in case what I had was catching @_@ )
Luckily they had juice/punch there, which also felt nice on my throat.
I had asked to give my speech first, so my Mom could come (she had to teach later in the day).
I think I did a good job. I only had to look at my notes a couple times, aside from my reading sample.
I didn't talk too fast, which was good. That was one of the main things I wanted to fix, aside from glancing at my notes too often.
I think the next thing to work on is looking at the audience instead of just staring blankly in front of me. And smiling more. I'm interested to see if I looked really solemn while I was speaking.
I didn't get nervous at all either. The closest I got was a slight hesitation in one or two spots.
I talked about my project, and read a page from my graduate story. I also talked some about environmental fiction in general.
Ten minutes of talking, five minutes of questions.
I got some good questions,and I think people were interested in what I was saying.
They took a video of it, so I'll try to share that once it's uploaded. And of course once that's out, I'll start critiquing my presentation. Heh.
Aah, man I'm so relieved i made it through with my throat all in one piece. It still feels better, so hopefully I'll be able to sleep normally tonight.
It was a nice event, and I'm definitely glad I went. It's only the second annual one they've done, so it looks like they're going to keep growing it from here.
Man, I'm so tired. But it's early enough that I don't think I'll be able to fall asleep. Maybe I'll actually watch a bit of anime, which I haven't done in ages.
I was looking forward to doing a bunch of writing today, but the level of editing I'm doing now requires more focus than I really feel up to. Maybe I'll do some simpler writing on a different project. I might even write a bit of a fanfic I'm hoping to renew, just for fun.
Thursday, April 20, 2017
The Dangers of Finishing Early
So, my speech is coming up next week.
I've been working on it a lot, writing out my whole talk and timing it so I won't run over the limit.
I started with my graduate talk, and I've been cutting out more and more of it to make it fit in the timeline.
Last night I finally printed out my speech since it felt pretty close.
Today I got some feedback from the committee. And I learned that I'll have to rewrite a lot of my speech.
Oops.
That's what I get for trying to finalize something before I have final approval.
It's like if I were writing my speech on the color purple. Purple has two parts: red and blue. My speech focuses on the blue. But they want me to push my focus to the red side.
I've spent all evening rewriting it. It's not too hard, since I still have all the "red" information on my thesis talk notes. But I do have to reorganize everything, and take out big hunks of "blue" information. And of course I'll have to make sure that it's not too long, so I'll have to time it at least a couple times.
I've been working on it a lot, writing out my whole talk and timing it so I won't run over the limit.
I started with my graduate talk, and I've been cutting out more and more of it to make it fit in the timeline.
Last night I finally printed out my speech since it felt pretty close.
Today I got some feedback from the committee. And I learned that I'll have to rewrite a lot of my speech.
Oops.
That's what I get for trying to finalize something before I have final approval.
It's like if I were writing my speech on the color purple. Purple has two parts: red and blue. My speech focuses on the blue. But they want me to push my focus to the red side.
I've spent all evening rewriting it. It's not too hard, since I still have all the "red" information on my thesis talk notes. But I do have to reorganize everything, and take out big hunks of "blue" information. And of course I'll have to make sure that it's not too long, so I'll have to time it at least a couple times.
Wednesday, April 19, 2017
Anime/manga update
I haven't done a manga/anime update in a while.
I don't have a lot of new things to add, since a lot of what I'm going through are anime that I've read the manga to, and vise versa. And I've been going through them much slower than usual too.
Noragami: I'm quite enjoying this one so far. It's about a girl who gets caught up in the world of spirits and gods. There's a new volume at the library, so I just grabbed that yesterday. Reading real copies is so much easier @_@
The anime is good as well.
Haikyu: I've seen the anime, though there may be a new season that I haven't gotten to yet. But I've been checking out the manga from the library. I'm enjoying the manga too. Yep, it still gives me a craving to play volleyball. Sigh.
My Hero Academia: I saw the anime, and I'm now reading the manga. I'm mostly caught up, at least with the volumes they have at the library.
This is a super hero manga, about a school for training kids to be heroes. Lots of interesting characters in this one, and the writer is very creative about super powers.
Lucky Star: A high school comedy one. It's got cute art, and it's fun to watch.
I finished the anime, though I'm having trouble finding the rest of the manga. I'll have to do another search for it.
School Rumble: Another high school comedy. I liked the first part, though as it goes further I'm less interested. I may read a bit more, just in case (assuming I can get ahold of the next books @_@ )
I think there's an anime too, which I might watch a bit of eventually.
Chouka Kou: This series takes place in China, long ago. And it's very good. The main character is a girl from a noble family. Her family was overthrown, so she's kinda on the run. But she's also brilliant, and she ends up doing a lot of amazing strategic work for the different allies that she makes.
I can see how much it draws from classics like The Three Kingdoms.
Trigun: I read the first series of the manga, and the manga was actually really confusing. I like Vash (man, he's so similar to Kenshin though. I wonder if this came after Rurouni Kenshin). I'm in the middle of watching season 1 of the anime, and I do like the anime better since it's easier to understand.
Though like I said, I've been slow getting through anime/manga. I haven't actually watched any in a long time... I should try to finish at least this season soon.
Anne of Green Gables: I finally tracked it down! An old anime that Miyazaki worked on. I've always loved this one miniseries of Anne of Green Gables, so it's fascinating to watch an anime of it (and see some of the cultural details they threw in, for an audience from a different country).
I like it a lot, though it's another series I haven't made any progress on lately.
Tiger and Bunny: Okay, I already wrote about this, but I rewatched season 1. It's so fun~
I don't have a lot of new things to add, since a lot of what I'm going through are anime that I've read the manga to, and vise versa. And I've been going through them much slower than usual too.
Noragami: I'm quite enjoying this one so far. It's about a girl who gets caught up in the world of spirits and gods. There's a new volume at the library, so I just grabbed that yesterday. Reading real copies is so much easier @_@
The anime is good as well.
Haikyu: I've seen the anime, though there may be a new season that I haven't gotten to yet. But I've been checking out the manga from the library. I'm enjoying the manga too. Yep, it still gives me a craving to play volleyball. Sigh.
My Hero Academia: I saw the anime, and I'm now reading the manga. I'm mostly caught up, at least with the volumes they have at the library.
This is a super hero manga, about a school for training kids to be heroes. Lots of interesting characters in this one, and the writer is very creative about super powers.
Lucky Star: A high school comedy one. It's got cute art, and it's fun to watch.
I finished the anime, though I'm having trouble finding the rest of the manga. I'll have to do another search for it.
School Rumble: Another high school comedy. I liked the first part, though as it goes further I'm less interested. I may read a bit more, just in case (assuming I can get ahold of the next books @_@ )
I think there's an anime too, which I might watch a bit of eventually.
Chouka Kou: This series takes place in China, long ago. And it's very good. The main character is a girl from a noble family. Her family was overthrown, so she's kinda on the run. But she's also brilliant, and she ends up doing a lot of amazing strategic work for the different allies that she makes.
I can see how much it draws from classics like The Three Kingdoms.
Trigun: I read the first series of the manga, and the manga was actually really confusing. I like Vash (man, he's so similar to Kenshin though. I wonder if this came after Rurouni Kenshin). I'm in the middle of watching season 1 of the anime, and I do like the anime better since it's easier to understand.
Though like I said, I've been slow getting through anime/manga. I haven't actually watched any in a long time... I should try to finish at least this season soon.
Anne of Green Gables: I finally tracked it down! An old anime that Miyazaki worked on. I've always loved this one miniseries of Anne of Green Gables, so it's fascinating to watch an anime of it (and see some of the cultural details they threw in, for an audience from a different country).
I like it a lot, though it's another series I haven't made any progress on lately.
Tiger and Bunny: Okay, I already wrote about this, but I rewatched season 1. It's so fun~
Sunday, April 16, 2017
Breath of the Wild Highlights
What I love in Breath of the Wild: (Potential spoilers)
Tossing bananas as bait in the Yiga clan, and watching them tiptoe up to snag them. This part of the game made me crave bananas so much...
The dragons. The first time I saw one was in the distance, soaring over Lake Hylia. I couldn't get a clear look at it, since it was so far away. And I was terrified to think that I might have to fight such a huge thing. Then I ran into it again at Lake Floria. It flew right past me, and didn't seem to notice. Not even when I made a tentative attack.
Now I love watching them fly past, as long as I take precautions against the sparks. The music is so pretty, and I feel really guilty if I have to shoot one to get a scale or something.
Riding horses. I love my horses, and I love hopping on random wild horses. My stamina is high enough that I can calm most wild ones without using any stamina-enhancers.
Gliding. I glide every chance I get.
Hiding on a ledge above monsters and raining bombs down on them.
Putting on a monster mask and walking among the monsters, who seem really confused about me. It's funny to watch, and this way I don't have to hurt them (yes, Undertale has made me feel guilty about killing videogame monsters)
What I hate about BOTW:
Freaking guardians and their creepy targeting. Especially since I didn't find the protective gear until the very last region I explored.
Lynels. They're such a pain to fight, and you have to fight a ton of them to upgrade your gear. Though I did finally get a groove about defeating them. And they are remarkable polite, as they don't necessarily attack if they spot you in the distance.
Blood Moons. So creepy @_@
Some other notes on BOTW:
Man, I know Prince Sidon would have fans on the net I was right. Heh.
Vah Ruta was my first divine beast. Man, those beasts are surreal and kinda creepy to be inside. And the music for Vah Ruta makes it even more so @_@
I did some really reckless stunts to get through those beasts. It was kinda cool.
I'm fascinated by Gerudo town, and all the culture there. This is the first we've really gotten deep into Gerudo culture in the Zelda games.
Cross-dressing. I bet lots of fans were wild about that. I snorted out loud when I discovered this.
And the characters talk! Whoa! And they did a good job on the voices.
But because of it, the fact that Link still never says anything feels like a joke... I wish they would have done something with him.
All the different outfits for Link are cool!
There is some impressive detail to this game, in so many ways. Even down to characters reacting to what clothes you wear. I saw on the internet that if you walk around in your underwear, characters will comment on that.
I have in no way finished all of the side stuff for Breath of the Wild, but I did just beat the final boss. It was a lot easier than I was expecting. I wasn't really well prepared, and I still didn't die at all.
The ending felt rather abrupt, and it seemed like a lot went unresolved.
But I'm super into the game play, and I'll probably slowly go through trying to complete all (or most) of the extra stuff. Who knows how long that will take.
Tossing bananas as bait in the Yiga clan, and watching them tiptoe up to snag them. This part of the game made me crave bananas so much...
The dragons. The first time I saw one was in the distance, soaring over Lake Hylia. I couldn't get a clear look at it, since it was so far away. And I was terrified to think that I might have to fight such a huge thing. Then I ran into it again at Lake Floria. It flew right past me, and didn't seem to notice. Not even when I made a tentative attack.
Now I love watching them fly past, as long as I take precautions against the sparks. The music is so pretty, and I feel really guilty if I have to shoot one to get a scale or something.
Riding horses. I love my horses, and I love hopping on random wild horses. My stamina is high enough that I can calm most wild ones without using any stamina-enhancers.
Gliding. I glide every chance I get.
Hiding on a ledge above monsters and raining bombs down on them.
Putting on a monster mask and walking among the monsters, who seem really confused about me. It's funny to watch, and this way I don't have to hurt them (yes, Undertale has made me feel guilty about killing videogame monsters)
What I hate about BOTW:
Freaking guardians and their creepy targeting. Especially since I didn't find the protective gear until the very last region I explored.
Lynels. They're such a pain to fight, and you have to fight a ton of them to upgrade your gear. Though I did finally get a groove about defeating them. And they are remarkable polite, as they don't necessarily attack if they spot you in the distance.
Blood Moons. So creepy @_@
Some other notes on BOTW:
Man, I know Prince Sidon would have fans on the net I was right. Heh.
Vah Ruta was my first divine beast. Man, those beasts are surreal and kinda creepy to be inside. And the music for Vah Ruta makes it even more so @_@
I did some really reckless stunts to get through those beasts. It was kinda cool.
I'm fascinated by Gerudo town, and all the culture there. This is the first we've really gotten deep into Gerudo culture in the Zelda games.
Cross-dressing. I bet lots of fans were wild about that. I snorted out loud when I discovered this.
And the characters talk! Whoa! And they did a good job on the voices.
But because of it, the fact that Link still never says anything feels like a joke... I wish they would have done something with him.
All the different outfits for Link are cool!
There is some impressive detail to this game, in so many ways. Even down to characters reacting to what clothes you wear. I saw on the internet that if you walk around in your underwear, characters will comment on that.
I have in no way finished all of the side stuff for Breath of the Wild, but I did just beat the final boss. It was a lot easier than I was expecting. I wasn't really well prepared, and I still didn't die at all.
The ending felt rather abrupt, and it seemed like a lot went unresolved.
But I'm super into the game play, and I'll probably slowly go through trying to complete all (or most) of the extra stuff. Who knows how long that will take.
Thursday, April 13, 2017
Gaksital
I just watched my first Korean drama. A friend of the family recommended several, and it took me a very long time to realize that my library actually has some of them in stock. I checked out one called Bridal Mask, or Gaksital.
I really liked the first six episodes.
Man, there was some really intense emotion in some of those scenes. There was one scene with the two brothers in their room which was basically heart-breaking.
I'll keep things vague, but they might be a bit spoiler-y?
I guessed after the first episode who the person in the mask was, but that was probably the point.
It was after episode six where things changed a lot.
The character I really like died... TT^TT
And another guy I liked turned to the dark side.
It felt like they stretched it out too long, because they ran in the same circles for a while. I swear, that poor girl got arrested at least a dozen times. And those police seemed pretty incompetent pretty fast.
It's fun to watch Gaksital kick butt though.
Man, that last episode... I didn't expect it to start like that.
I might check it out again sometime and rewatch the the first few episodes, with the character I really liked.
I just discovered that this is based off of a comic series? But I can't find it anywhere, though I'd like to check it out.
I really liked the first six episodes.
Man, there was some really intense emotion in some of those scenes. There was one scene with the two brothers in their room which was basically heart-breaking.
I'll keep things vague, but they might be a bit spoiler-y?
I guessed after the first episode who the person in the mask was, but that was probably the point.
It was after episode six where things changed a lot.
The character I really like died... TT^TT
And another guy I liked turned to the dark side.
It felt like they stretched it out too long, because they ran in the same circles for a while. I swear, that poor girl got arrested at least a dozen times. And those police seemed pretty incompetent pretty fast.
It's fun to watch Gaksital kick butt though.
Man, that last episode... I didn't expect it to start like that.
I might check it out again sometime and rewatch the the first few episodes, with the character I really liked.
I just discovered that this is based off of a comic series? But I can't find it anywhere, though I'd like to check it out.
Sunday, April 9, 2017
Tricking Your Own Mind
I was just writing about this, so I thought I would share it.
It's amazing how easy it is to trick your mind.
Or to think something, even if you are sure it isn't true...
It's amazing how easy it is to trick your mind.
Or to think something, even if you are sure it isn't true...
Saturday, April 8, 2017
Getting the Proper Balance
Aaah, all the weird balancing acts of writing.
Previous drafts of my story had plenty of explanation and description about setting and background. Probably too much of it, done rather bluntly.
In my attempts to cut out excess words and get rid of info dumps, I've taken out too much.
The essential bits of information are there, but for someone who hasn't re-written this story a dozen times (anyone besides me) it would be hard to put some of the pieces together.
This is why it's so helpful to have fresh eyes read your writing. They can spot when connections are missing, or if those connections come too late to be helpful.
Previous drafts of my story had plenty of explanation and description about setting and background. Probably too much of it, done rather bluntly.
In my attempts to cut out excess words and get rid of info dumps, I've taken out too much.
The essential bits of information are there, but for someone who hasn't re-written this story a dozen times (anyone besides me) it would be hard to put some of the pieces together.
This is why it's so helpful to have fresh eyes read your writing. They can spot when connections are missing, or if those connections come too late to be helpful.
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