I'm leaving in a couple days to visit aunt/uncle/cousins in Portland. And I finally finished the last of my plushie orders, so I can send them off (except for one, which seems to be having trouble with payment).
~*~
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Fern Pony Plushie
I'm leaving in a couple days to visit aunt/uncle/cousins in Portland. And I finally finished the last of my plushie orders, so I can send them off (except for one, which seems to be having trouble with payment).
First Stories
On Sunday, Mom had me go through a bunch of papers from elementary school so that I could get rid of anything I didn't want.
When I reached 1st grade, I found some very interesting stuff.
Stories! Some of the very first things I ever wrote!
Man, it was so funny to read them.
The ones from first grade were really hard to read, unsurprisingly. Later grades (up to 5th, though there were fewer each year - they had us do less fun stuff than writing stories and making pictures) were a bit better.
Most of them were very short. Just a few lines. The longest ones were no more than several lines.
A lot of them went something like "I'm a dolphin. My name is Tara." And I laughed very hard when I wrote something about me being the Easter Bunny.
And then a lot of them stated at the end that they were based on a true story (although it was usually spelled "Bast on a true story). A couple of them may have been, but some of them definitely were not. Like the one where I said I had two ghost friends, and one of them lived in a hole under my bed (There is no hole under my bed, nor has there ever been). Or the one where a giant dragon lives in the sky, and his mood will affect the weather.
Looks like I've been interested in writing about dragons for a long, long time.
Some day I gotta scan (and translate) these.
I'm glad I still have them.
When I reached 1st grade, I found some very interesting stuff.
Stories! Some of the very first things I ever wrote!
Man, it was so funny to read them.
The ones from first grade were really hard to read, unsurprisingly. Later grades (up to 5th, though there were fewer each year - they had us do less fun stuff than writing stories and making pictures) were a bit better.
Most of them were very short. Just a few lines. The longest ones were no more than several lines.
A lot of them went something like "I'm a dolphin. My name is Tara." And I laughed very hard when I wrote something about me being the Easter Bunny.
And then a lot of them stated at the end that they were based on a true story (although it was usually spelled "Bast on a true story). A couple of them may have been, but some of them definitely were not. Like the one where I said I had two ghost friends, and one of them lived in a hole under my bed (There is no hole under my bed, nor has there ever been). Or the one where a giant dragon lives in the sky, and his mood will affect the weather.
Looks like I've been interested in writing about dragons for a long, long time.
Some day I gotta scan (and translate) these.
I'm glad I still have them.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas everyone! I hope you have a great day!
Did you guys hang out with family? Get anything cool?
Did you guys hang out with family? Get anything cool?
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Trade
So, Ellen, Crystal and I spent much of yesterday evening figuring out trades between all of us.
Though I'm leaving a few days after Christmas, so I might not be able to work on them for a while.
It kinda feels like they'll be hard to do, since they're not really my original ideas. Especially Crystal's, which is based off a very thought-out world, and I don't know that world or the characters like she does. I've only read a handful of scenes based off of that world and these characters, so it's not like something where I've read an entire book or seen a whole series. And the scene sounded complicated before I even knew I'd be writing it.
I haven't finished reading all of the notes for my trade with Ellen, but it does look quite a bit easier, since it could be set in this world and the characters are much more flexible.
I didn't really know what to ask them to write, so I just asked them to write something with the characters from my Katani story. Either re-write an existing scene, or make up a new one. I don't know what Crystal's going to be doing, but Ellen's going to do a scene with Katani, Youka, Len, and Garrett at their little beach. I mention that the scene happens but I don't actually write the scene, so that should be interesting. I need to get more character info to Crystal, since my first draft of the story has very bad character development for Katani's team. I don't really have any physical notes on them either. It's all in my head. Which is great for me. Not so much for them. Youka, Len, and Garrett have at least been mostly fixed, so Ellen should have enough to work with. I gotta re-write the scene where Katani "meets" Melly, Tri, Dominic, and Saris. Which reminds me, are there any other characters you want to know about? Either of you? And let me know if you have any questions.
Though I'm leaving a few days after Christmas, so I might not be able to work on them for a while.
It kinda feels like they'll be hard to do, since they're not really my original ideas. Especially Crystal's, which is based off a very thought-out world, and I don't know that world or the characters like she does. I've only read a handful of scenes based off of that world and these characters, so it's not like something where I've read an entire book or seen a whole series. And the scene sounded complicated before I even knew I'd be writing it.
I haven't finished reading all of the notes for my trade with Ellen, but it does look quite a bit easier, since it could be set in this world and the characters are much more flexible.
I didn't really know what to ask them to write, so I just asked them to write something with the characters from my Katani story. Either re-write an existing scene, or make up a new one. I don't know what Crystal's going to be doing, but Ellen's going to do a scene with Katani, Youka, Len, and Garrett at their little beach. I mention that the scene happens but I don't actually write the scene, so that should be interesting. I need to get more character info to Crystal, since my first draft of the story has very bad character development for Katani's team. I don't really have any physical notes on them either. It's all in my head. Which is great for me. Not so much for them. Youka, Len, and Garrett have at least been mostly fixed, so Ellen should have enough to work with. I gotta re-write the scene where Katani "meets" Melly, Tri, Dominic, and Saris. Which reminds me, are there any other characters you want to know about? Either of you? And let me know if you have any questions.
Tuesday, December 18, 2012
Write Yourself
Ok, so I'm pretty sure this is the last thing I can think of from the book Poemcrazy.
Basically, write yourself.
Start writing what you look like, what your hobbies are, what you're good at. Keep going for as long as you can. See what happens.
You don't need to show anyone else. It will probably be the most interesting and informative if it gets to the point where you don't feel like you can show it to anyone else.
I don't think I got as far as I planned on mine.
Basically, write yourself.
Start writing what you look like, what your hobbies are, what you're good at. Keep going for as long as you can. See what happens.
You don't need to show anyone else. It will probably be the most interesting and informative if it gets to the point where you don't feel like you can show it to anyone else.
I don't think I got as far as I planned on mine.
Saturday, December 15, 2012
Become the Winter
Just after noon, I finished my last paper.
So I am finally FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
It feels so strange though. Knowing I don't have to go back to school. Until I walk for graduation at the end of next semester, at least.
I wish I would know sooner than March whether or not I'll get into the grad program. Part of me really wants to get in, and part of me almost doesn't want to...
Bleh. I want to see Rise of the Guardians again. Like How to Train your Dragon and Howl's Moving Castle, I can't wait until they come out on DVD! It's an uncommon phenomena. Which is good, because for a while after seeing a movie like that, it will eat my brain.
But I'll have to wait. Because there's several other movies that are out that I haven't seen yet. Like The Hobbit. Can't wait to see that one.
And I saw Life of Pi with my parents yesterday. I gotta read that book.
There are more interesting movies out this month than there have been all the rest of the year... Why all at once?!?!?!
I want to get an Easter Bunny figure or plushie or something. But there really isn't any merchandise for the movie. Which I'm kind of happy about, because they're not getting obsessed with marketing and money. Legend of Korra did this too. And also, a lot of toys and things for these sorts of movies can be very bad quality (like that hideous official Toothless plushie). Though then again, I am rather spoiled by those nice anime character figures. So while part of me is glad that they don't get hung up on marketing and stuff,another part wants stuffed animals or figures of Pabu, Naga, and the Easter Bunny! (And then I figure out that There's McDonalds toys for ROTG. I take it all back. McDonalds is about the worse kind of toy. Cruddy quality toys that advertise really unhealthy food for kids, not to mention horrible animal treatment).
Also, I'm glad that I designed my God of Ice before I saw this movie. Because the two of them did end up being rather similar in a couple ways. This way I can say that I did not copy Jack Frost.
Anyway, I've been tiding myself over by looking through part of the surprisingly massive collection of Rise of the Guardians fanart on DA, and watching random things on youtube, like this scene.
And then I got an idea of something to write. And since I am finally free from the bonds of homework, I decided to write something for myself. (I can start writing Katani and my fanfic again! And doing the blog posts that have been piling up)
So, I might as well post it here. If you haven't seen the movie yet, you can read it now if you want. (any spoilers will be vague, but they are there, just to warm you) But definitely read it after you see the movie.
Hopefully this will help get some of the movie craze out of my system.
First I hear the cracking. I can feel through my bare feet the hair-thin lines spreading across the ice. And then everything beneath me vanishes.
I fall, plunging into the icy blue depths, and watch, helpless as the jagged frame of pale light slowly slips further away.
I reach out towards the watery light, even as my fingers lose all feeling.
The cold presses in, seeping past my skin, spreading through my bones and into my heart.
But even as I sink, feeling my blood become ice, I close my eyes in relief, because she is safe.
Everything else fades away.
Except the cold.
It is the cold more than anything else that is suffocating. Pressing in, closing out all else. Taking away the light.
And it doesn’t go away.
It seeps in, past my heart, beyond my blood, into my very soul.
And now my soul is slipping away, melting into the frozen water.
Memory becomes liquid and flows away.
Then I feel it.
The touch of cool, silvery light. A touch I know well, but never noticed.
The touch of the moon.
But when I open my eyes, there is only darkness.
And I am afraid.
I barely notice the cold. It is around me, and it is in me.
And I am the cold.
But the darkness I cannot handle.
I want to cry out.
Then I am moving up, and I feel myself pressing against a surface, solid and smooth. And it gives way for me, shattering like fragile glass and falling away as I move upward.
The moon is there. And I can almost feel it reaching out for me. The light from the moon lifts me from the darkness and the ice.
I gasp for breath as the water slips away from me. And the air is cold.
It feels nice.
The rays of moonlight wrap around me, and my fear melts away.
When I feel my feet touch the slippery surface of the ice, a voice whispers out to me.
The voice of the moon.
Jack Frost.
So I am finally FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!
It feels so strange though. Knowing I don't have to go back to school. Until I walk for graduation at the end of next semester, at least.
I wish I would know sooner than March whether or not I'll get into the grad program. Part of me really wants to get in, and part of me almost doesn't want to...
Bleh. I want to see Rise of the Guardians again. Like How to Train your Dragon and Howl's Moving Castle, I can't wait until they come out on DVD! It's an uncommon phenomena. Which is good, because for a while after seeing a movie like that, it will eat my brain.
But I'll have to wait. Because there's several other movies that are out that I haven't seen yet. Like The Hobbit. Can't wait to see that one.
And I saw Life of Pi with my parents yesterday. I gotta read that book.
There are more interesting movies out this month than there have been all the rest of the year... Why all at once?!?!?!
I want to get an Easter Bunny figure or plushie or something. But there really isn't any merchandise for the movie. Which I'm kind of happy about, because they're not getting obsessed with marketing and money. Legend of Korra did this too. And also, a lot of toys and things for these sorts of movies can be very bad quality (like that hideous official Toothless plushie). Though then again, I am rather spoiled by those nice anime character figures. So while part of me is glad that they don't get hung up on marketing and stuff,another part wants stuffed animals or figures of Pabu, Naga, and the Easter Bunny! (And then I figure out that There's McDonalds toys for ROTG. I take it all back. McDonalds is about the worse kind of toy. Cruddy quality toys that advertise really unhealthy food for kids, not to mention horrible animal treatment).
Also, I'm glad that I designed my God of Ice before I saw this movie. Because the two of them did end up being rather similar in a couple ways. This way I can say that I did not copy Jack Frost.
Anyway, I've been tiding myself over by looking through part of the surprisingly massive collection of Rise of the Guardians fanart on DA, and watching random things on youtube, like this scene.
And then I got an idea of something to write. And since I am finally free from the bonds of homework, I decided to write something for myself. (I can start writing Katani and my fanfic again! And doing the blog posts that have been piling up)
So, I might as well post it here. If you haven't seen the movie yet, you can read it now if you want. (any spoilers will be vague, but they are there, just to warm you) But definitely read it after you see the movie.
Hopefully this will help get some of the movie craze out of my system.
First I hear the cracking. I can feel through my bare feet the hair-thin lines spreading across the ice. And then everything beneath me vanishes.
I fall, plunging into the icy blue depths, and watch, helpless as the jagged frame of pale light slowly slips further away.
I reach out towards the watery light, even as my fingers lose all feeling.
The cold presses in, seeping past my skin, spreading through my bones and into my heart.
But even as I sink, feeling my blood become ice, I close my eyes in relief, because she is safe.
Everything else fades away.
Except the cold.
It is the cold more than anything else that is suffocating. Pressing in, closing out all else. Taking away the light.
And it doesn’t go away.
It seeps in, past my heart, beyond my blood, into my very soul.
And now my soul is slipping away, melting into the frozen water.
Memory becomes liquid and flows away.
Then I feel it.
The touch of cool, silvery light. A touch I know well, but never noticed.
The touch of the moon.
But when I open my eyes, there is only darkness.
And I am afraid.
I barely notice the cold. It is around me, and it is in me.
And I am the cold.
But the darkness I cannot handle.
I want to cry out.
Then I am moving up, and I feel myself pressing against a surface, solid and smooth. And it gives way for me, shattering like fragile glass and falling away as I move upward.
The moon is there. And I can almost feel it reaching out for me. The light from the moon lifts me from the darkness and the ice.
I gasp for breath as the water slips away from me. And the air is cold.
It feels nice.
The rays of moonlight wrap around me, and my fear melts away.
When I feel my feet touch the slippery surface of the ice, a voice whispers out to me.
The voice of the moon.
Jack Frost.
Thursday, December 13, 2012
Rise of the Guardians
So, just got back from watching Rise of the Guardians.
It was pretty good!
It was the kind of thing I needed.
I got home yesterday evening, tired, with a headache and a burnt tongue and sore throat. This was the kind of movie that perked me up. There are some movies that leave you feeling light after the first time you see them. And I've noticed that it never really works quite as much your second time, and as many times after that.
It gave me the energy to continue working on my very last paper.
And after I got out, it was one of the times where the cold felt really nice. So I pulled off my jacket and enjoyed it.
So, can you guess who my favorite character was?
It's hard to miss all the Jack Frost fan art all over DA. And I did like Jack a lot. He was a very cool character and I like his design.
The little tooth fairy hummingbirds were really cute too!
And the reindeer were cool! Wish there were more of them.
The yetis were neat too. Though they looked a bit like large, round, gray loraxes.
The night mares were cool! I used to have a night shirt that said "night mares" on it, with pictures of black horses bounding around it. I loved that shirt. I wore it every night until it started to fall apart. I still have it hidden away, for nostalgia purposes. My night mares protected me from nightmares. ^-^
But my favorite character. I can tell you've been waiting with bated breath. So here it is!
The Easter Bunny!
Hell yeah!
With Watership Down as one of my favorite books, and a rabbit living in my room, how could he not be?
An awesome, boomerang-throwing, kick-ass Easter Bunny!
Plus a really cool design! And he was funny too.
And the little one! Awwwwwwww!!! It was so cute and fluffy! You know you wanted to hug it.
I kinda wished they called him something else besides Bunny all the time. Couldn't they give him a name?
Man, this is really going to ruin Wolverine's reputation.
It was pretty good!
It was the kind of thing I needed.
I got home yesterday evening, tired, with a headache and a burnt tongue and sore throat. This was the kind of movie that perked me up. There are some movies that leave you feeling light after the first time you see them. And I've noticed that it never really works quite as much your second time, and as many times after that.
It gave me the energy to continue working on my very last paper.
And after I got out, it was one of the times where the cold felt really nice. So I pulled off my jacket and enjoyed it.
So, can you guess who my favorite character was?
It's hard to miss all the Jack Frost fan art all over DA. And I did like Jack a lot. He was a very cool character and I like his design.
The little tooth fairy hummingbirds were really cute too!
And the reindeer were cool! Wish there were more of them.
The yetis were neat too. Though they looked a bit like large, round, gray loraxes.
The night mares were cool! I used to have a night shirt that said "night mares" on it, with pictures of black horses bounding around it. I loved that shirt. I wore it every night until it started to fall apart. I still have it hidden away, for nostalgia purposes. My night mares protected me from nightmares. ^-^
But my favorite character. I can tell you've been waiting with bated breath. So here it is!
The Easter Bunny!
Hell yeah!
With Watership Down as one of my favorite books, and a rabbit living in my room, how could he not be?
An awesome, boomerang-throwing, kick-ass Easter Bunny!
Plus a really cool design! And he was funny too.
And the little one! Awwwwwwww!!! It was so cute and fluffy! You know you wanted to hug it.
I kinda wished they called him something else besides Bunny all the time. Couldn't they give him a name?
Man, this is really going to ruin Wolverine's reputation.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Still Not Done
So, today was my last day of classes.
EVER.
Until I get into that grad program.
Problem is I'm still not done. I have a research paper due (online) in a couple days. I really wanted to finish it before today, so that I could feel like I was really done when I came home this evening. But I wasn't able to, since it took a while to finish the stuff that WAS done today.
So, done with the long commute. But not quite done with my schoolwork.
Hopefully tomorrow.
If not, the day after. Most likely.
EVER.
Until I get into that grad program.
Problem is I'm still not done. I have a research paper due (online) in a couple days. I really wanted to finish it before today, so that I could feel like I was really done when I came home this evening. But I wasn't able to, since it took a while to finish the stuff that WAS done today.
So, done with the long commute. But not quite done with my schoolwork.
Hopefully tomorrow.
If not, the day after. Most likely.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Evil Evil Final Stuff
There's a whole list of blog posts I want to write but I must refrain. Wednesday is when almost all my my final project stuff is due. And there's a helluvalot of it.
I've spent the entire day at my computer, sneezing my brains out because I think I developed an allergy to my rabbit, who lives in my room.
So, I'll have to do some post catch-up after Wednesday.
Bleh. I hate my nose. And my butt hurts from sitting in this chair.
I've spent the entire day at my computer, sneezing my brains out because I think I developed an allergy to my rabbit, who lives in my room.
So, I'll have to do some post catch-up after Wednesday.
Bleh. I hate my nose. And my butt hurts from sitting in this chair.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Color
I bet you thought I was done with the book Poemcrazy. Well, I still have one more post about it after this one.
So, another poem exercise!!
Pick a color. And write a poem about it!
What things are that color?
What does the color make you feel? What emotions do you associate with that color?
What does that color make you think of?
Here's my short, half-ass poem about the color yellow. You should pick a more interesting color. Like Aquamarine. Or Puce (maybe not).
Sunflowers, dandelions, daffodils
Autumn leaves drifting earthward
Furry bees stepping over sweet, glistening comb
Eyes gleaming through the hedge
Warmth and light beaming down from above
Pale, flickering flames
Bright and cheery
So, another poem exercise!!
Pick a color. And write a poem about it!
What things are that color?
What does the color make you feel? What emotions do you associate with that color?
What does that color make you think of?
Here's my short, half-ass poem about the color yellow. You should pick a more interesting color. Like Aquamarine. Or Puce (maybe not).
Sunflowers, dandelions, daffodils
Autumn leaves drifting earthward
Furry bees stepping over sweet, glistening comb
Eyes gleaming through the hedge
Warmth and light beaming down from above
Pale, flickering flames
Bright and cheery
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Soreina/Magic-Earth Gods
Also been working a lot on the system of Gods for my worlds. I've had it partially developed for a while, but I finally started fleshing it out. Finalizing the list of gods, and their names, and the animal forms they take.
I may still add more of the minor gods, but I think I have my main list of gods about how I want it. I've even started sketching out some of the gods' animal forms. After I finish a bunch of them, I'll probably scan and post them somewhere.
The main thing I still need to do is come up with the Reyan names for the more common gods. I only have two of the Reyan names so far.
Fact of the day: Perfume is mostly alcohol. You rub it into your neck and wrists because of the big blood vessels there. The warmth from the blood helps vaporize the alcohol in the perfume and spread the scent out.
Cologne is almost entirely alcohol.
I may still add more of the minor gods, but I think I have my main list of gods about how I want it. I've even started sketching out some of the gods' animal forms. After I finish a bunch of them, I'll probably scan and post them somewhere.
The main thing I still need to do is come up with the Reyan names for the more common gods. I only have two of the Reyan names so far.
Fact of the day: Perfume is mostly alcohol. You rub it into your neck and wrists because of the big blood vessels there. The warmth from the blood helps vaporize the alcohol in the perfume and spread the scent out.
Cologne is almost entirely alcohol.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Naaaames
Went through the main cast of Katani's story and finally changed almost all of the last names to make them better suit the country.
Probably should have taken more notes when I did it though. I forget where I went to figure them out, since I pretty much went to a different place to look for each one.
I missed a couple though, Like Katani's "mentor."
Oh yeah. I need to fix the King's name too. I thought I had it, but the meaning of it is stupid. Same thing with the Lieutenant. So she still needs an entire name. At least the King has his last name (which is what he goes by most of the story anyway). I haven't even written anything of the Lieutenant yet. Though I did draw her.
Probably should have taken more notes when I did it though. I forget where I went to figure them out, since I pretty much went to a different place to look for each one.
I missed a couple though, Like Katani's "mentor."
Oh yeah. I need to fix the King's name too. I thought I had it, but the meaning of it is stupid. Same thing with the Lieutenant. So she still needs an entire name. At least the King has his last name (which is what he goes by most of the story anyway). I haven't even written anything of the Lieutenant yet. Though I did draw her.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Sharing Creations
Continuing on a separate branch of the last post.
Ok.
You've spent so much of your time and soul to make your creation as good as you possibly could. But the idea of sharing your creation with someone can be terrifying (Although it can also be really exciting).
What if it's not as good as you think it is?
What if everyone hates it?
The latter can definitely be a problem if you share things on the internet. There are plenty of people out there ready to say hateful things about how much you suck. I wish they'd just get a life instead of messing up other people's lives.
So, yeah. Sharing things can be terrifying. Start with people you're close to you, and who you trust. The internet is a... bolder step.
And it's always sad when people who are wonderful at creating just stop entirely because of the fear of failure. One of my teachers told me about a student he had who was a wonderful writer. But after a while, she got so hung up on trying to be perfect that she couldn't take imperfection. She stopped writing altogether. I wonder if she ever got over it...
Never expect perfection. Anything close to perfection takes many, many attempts. Don't be afraid to create something bad. Everything bad you do is one step closer to making something good. You just need to learn from your mistakes.
In a little book I read, it talked about an exercise used by some authors. They keep a log of what they write each day, and how good it was. And the majority of what they write they labeled as complete garbage. Even professionals will create plenty of garbage.
Work through your lame stuff, learn, and stick it out until you're proud of what you have. It's a lot of work. But that's what makes it interesting.
I don't generally worry about sharing my stuff on the internet. I post drawings and photos of stuff I made on my DA account. I know I'm no expert at either of those. And I don't more than a couple comments even on the things I"m proud of.
But I don't think I'd ever want to be really popular on DA, because the most popular artists are the ones that attract those jerks I mentioned before (plus they get hundreds of messages, and that looks terrifying). I'm content with my few watchers. Even if the only comments I get on my stuff are "awesome," or "it's so cute!"
I'm just glad that I'm improving enough that people actually like my stuff.
As for fanfic, I don't really worry about that either. I spend time on my fanfic chapters, and enjoy writing them. I'm generally pretty confident in their content and quality. At least as far as a single edit goes. Again, I may not get a lot of comments, but I have watchers that follow my stories and comment on my characters and conflicts. I'm always excited to hear from them.
But I don't go as deep into my fanfictions as my other stories. For fanfictions, I write one chapter, edit it, and post it. I don't usually go back to further edit it. For my other stories, I'm constantly changing and re-writing things, and am much more intertwined in everything. Plus, unlike fanfictions, my own stories take place in my own world with all of my own characters. I don't get to lean/stand on other creators.
Even so, I'm generally fine with showing my stories to other people (though I will not post them on the internet, because that could cause big problems when I try to get published.)
There are, admittedly, a couple people I'm kind of nervous showing my stuff to.
Ok.
You've spent so much of your time and soul to make your creation as good as you possibly could. But the idea of sharing your creation with someone can be terrifying (Although it can also be really exciting).
What if it's not as good as you think it is?
What if everyone hates it?
The latter can definitely be a problem if you share things on the internet. There are plenty of people out there ready to say hateful things about how much you suck. I wish they'd just get a life instead of messing up other people's lives.
So, yeah. Sharing things can be terrifying. Start with people you're close to you, and who you trust. The internet is a... bolder step.
And it's always sad when people who are wonderful at creating just stop entirely because of the fear of failure. One of my teachers told me about a student he had who was a wonderful writer. But after a while, she got so hung up on trying to be perfect that she couldn't take imperfection. She stopped writing altogether. I wonder if she ever got over it...
Never expect perfection. Anything close to perfection takes many, many attempts. Don't be afraid to create something bad. Everything bad you do is one step closer to making something good. You just need to learn from your mistakes.
In a little book I read, it talked about an exercise used by some authors. They keep a log of what they write each day, and how good it was. And the majority of what they write they labeled as complete garbage. Even professionals will create plenty of garbage.
Work through your lame stuff, learn, and stick it out until you're proud of what you have. It's a lot of work. But that's what makes it interesting.
I don't generally worry about sharing my stuff on the internet. I post drawings and photos of stuff I made on my DA account. I know I'm no expert at either of those. And I don't more than a couple comments even on the things I"m proud of.
But I don't think I'd ever want to be really popular on DA, because the most popular artists are the ones that attract those jerks I mentioned before (plus they get hundreds of messages, and that looks terrifying). I'm content with my few watchers. Even if the only comments I get on my stuff are "awesome," or "it's so cute!"
I'm just glad that I'm improving enough that people actually like my stuff.
As for fanfic, I don't really worry about that either. I spend time on my fanfic chapters, and enjoy writing them. I'm generally pretty confident in their content and quality. At least as far as a single edit goes. Again, I may not get a lot of comments, but I have watchers that follow my stories and comment on my characters and conflicts. I'm always excited to hear from them.
But I don't go as deep into my fanfictions as my other stories. For fanfictions, I write one chapter, edit it, and post it. I don't usually go back to further edit it. For my other stories, I'm constantly changing and re-writing things, and am much more intertwined in everything. Plus, unlike fanfictions, my own stories take place in my own world with all of my own characters. I don't get to lean/stand on other creators.
Even so, I'm generally fine with showing my stories to other people (though I will not post them on the internet, because that could cause big problems when I try to get published.)
There are, admittedly, a couple people I'm kind of nervous showing my stuff to.
Thursday, November 22, 2012
Creation and Criticism
For a while now I've been planning a post in my head (there's a lot of them in there. They just take a while to come out, and sometimes they are better for it - like this one). The more I think about this topic, the more it grows.
About a week ago, a small chain of events happened on Youtube, with one piece of it ending with a video made by Hank Green. And it ties in very much with one half of this post.
So, first of all, watch the video.
Now for part one (which doesn't really tie into the video - that comes later).
Criticism.
If you are a creator of something, anything, then criticism will be an important part of your life. I'd mainly thought about it in terms of writing until I had a conversation with a friend of mine (a professional artist named Jane). Jane and I compared writing to drawing. No matter what it is, no matter how well you think you did, when you have an editor look at it, especially a professional editor like Jane's, you'll usually have your work returned to you, "bleeding ink." Referring to the red pen people often use to mark notes on something.
Which can be disheartening, to say the least.
But here's something you have to know.
Get over it.
Seriously.
People comment on your work to help you get better, not to make you mad (and even if you know this, it can be hard to follow your own advice. What? Don't look at me... okay. Maybe some.) Another thing to think about. Are you mad at the people giving you advice? Are you annoyed that the found the holes you didn't think were noticeable? Or are you annoyed that your work wasn't quite to the level you hoped it was? The latter is probably what gets me.
In my writing class last semester, the author wasn't allowed to speak when people were commenting on his/her work. Which made a lot of sense. Because given the chance, most creators will try to justify their work, or make excuses. Granted, sometimes the author is right. But if people are mentioning that they didn't understand something, or that you left something out, then you as a writer did not complete your job. This is where it helps to have a big group of people, to confirm or deny the comments of the others.
Even so, some people really just can't take suggestions or criticisms of any kind. And these people are a freaking pain to work with (I've fortunately had little experience with these people). Suggestions are not meant as a personal insult. And you are not perfect. People have good advice to offer, if you let them. They take time out of their day to read and make suggestions on your stuff.
Also, there's no way you can follow everyone's advice. This is where you, as the author/artist need to figure out the best way to fix the problem.
So, suck it up, make a note of it, and look at it again. Even if you need to let your head cool a bit first. Because what might annoy you at first will often make much more sense in hindsight.
And if you're confused, ask the person. Maybe if you explain why this happened, the reader will go, "ohhhh yeah! I didn't notice that!" And even after that, you might want to check that you were clear enough. Maybe the reader read too fast, or wasn't paying enough attention. But maybe you really could make it clearer.
A lot of criticism is good, assuming it's the good kind of criticism. A kind that points out your flaws, hopefully letting you know what you can do to fix them.
Telling someone that their stuff is full of problems and that the suck and should just give up is bad. That's just plain mean and completely not cool.
At the same time, just telling someone that their work is "good" or "bad" doesn't help much either.
So, criticism is good. Usually.
Which brings us to part two.
Okay, great. You have people willing to spend their time editing your stuff. Even if it annoys you, you listen and try to fix your mistakes.
But this is only half of it.
Sure, you have your mistakes.
But what did you do right?
I thought about this for a while and managed to convince myself that fishing for praise was just stupid and vain. Which it can be.
Then I saw Hank's video (above), and rethank (rethunk?) this idea.
Fishing for praise is usually a rather vain thing to do. But that does not mean that you can't know what you did well. After all, as Hank said, you've been pouring yourself into this creation, spending hours, days, weeks on it. It's part of you. And showing it to others can take a lot of courage (I think I'll write a post just about this). And yes, you definitely need to know how to improve.
But you also need to know what you're good at!
Maybe your reader said that your descriptions of the setting were really vague. That you needed to put a lot of thought into where your people are, what's around them, what they look like.
But maybe they absolutely loved your character development. You'll never know unless someone tells you. Because like you didn't notice how bad your setting was, you can't be sure how good your character development is until an outside person peers inside.
My creative writing teacher obviously understood this. Because every time we read a story, we had to write not only our suggestions, but also what we liked about the story.
So, not only do compliments make you feel happy (sometimes happier than it really warrants, even if they're very non-specific) but they can help you improve too.
Fact of the day:
You had a long post, so you get an article as opposed to me writing more.
Basically, there's good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. You want low bad cholesterol, and high good cholesterol. Here's some tips on achieving the latter.
About a week ago, a small chain of events happened on Youtube, with one piece of it ending with a video made by Hank Green. And it ties in very much with one half of this post.
So, first of all, watch the video.
Now for part one (which doesn't really tie into the video - that comes later).
Criticism.
If you are a creator of something, anything, then criticism will be an important part of your life. I'd mainly thought about it in terms of writing until I had a conversation with a friend of mine (a professional artist named Jane). Jane and I compared writing to drawing. No matter what it is, no matter how well you think you did, when you have an editor look at it, especially a professional editor like Jane's, you'll usually have your work returned to you, "bleeding ink." Referring to the red pen people often use to mark notes on something.
Which can be disheartening, to say the least.
But here's something you have to know.
Get over it.
Seriously.
People comment on your work to help you get better, not to make you mad (and even if you know this, it can be hard to follow your own advice. What? Don't look at me... okay. Maybe some.) Another thing to think about. Are you mad at the people giving you advice? Are you annoyed that the found the holes you didn't think were noticeable? Or are you annoyed that your work wasn't quite to the level you hoped it was? The latter is probably what gets me.
In my writing class last semester, the author wasn't allowed to speak when people were commenting on his/her work. Which made a lot of sense. Because given the chance, most creators will try to justify their work, or make excuses. Granted, sometimes the author is right. But if people are mentioning that they didn't understand something, or that you left something out, then you as a writer did not complete your job. This is where it helps to have a big group of people, to confirm or deny the comments of the others.
Even so, some people really just can't take suggestions or criticisms of any kind. And these people are a freaking pain to work with (I've fortunately had little experience with these people). Suggestions are not meant as a personal insult. And you are not perfect. People have good advice to offer, if you let them. They take time out of their day to read and make suggestions on your stuff.
Also, there's no way you can follow everyone's advice. This is where you, as the author/artist need to figure out the best way to fix the problem.
So, suck it up, make a note of it, and look at it again. Even if you need to let your head cool a bit first. Because what might annoy you at first will often make much more sense in hindsight.
And if you're confused, ask the person. Maybe if you explain why this happened, the reader will go, "ohhhh yeah! I didn't notice that!" And even after that, you might want to check that you were clear enough. Maybe the reader read too fast, or wasn't paying enough attention. But maybe you really could make it clearer.
A lot of criticism is good, assuming it's the good kind of criticism. A kind that points out your flaws, hopefully letting you know what you can do to fix them.
Telling someone that their stuff is full of problems and that the suck and should just give up is bad. That's just plain mean and completely not cool.
At the same time, just telling someone that their work is "good" or "bad" doesn't help much either.
So, criticism is good. Usually.
Which brings us to part two.
Okay, great. You have people willing to spend their time editing your stuff. Even if it annoys you, you listen and try to fix your mistakes.
But this is only half of it.
Sure, you have your mistakes.
But what did you do right?
I thought about this for a while and managed to convince myself that fishing for praise was just stupid and vain. Which it can be.
Then I saw Hank's video (above), and rethank (rethunk?) this idea.
Fishing for praise is usually a rather vain thing to do. But that does not mean that you can't know what you did well. After all, as Hank said, you've been pouring yourself into this creation, spending hours, days, weeks on it. It's part of you. And showing it to others can take a lot of courage (I think I'll write a post just about this). And yes, you definitely need to know how to improve.
But you also need to know what you're good at!
Maybe your reader said that your descriptions of the setting were really vague. That you needed to put a lot of thought into where your people are, what's around them, what they look like.
But maybe they absolutely loved your character development. You'll never know unless someone tells you. Because like you didn't notice how bad your setting was, you can't be sure how good your character development is until an outside person peers inside.
My creative writing teacher obviously understood this. Because every time we read a story, we had to write not only our suggestions, but also what we liked about the story.
So, not only do compliments make you feel happy (sometimes happier than it really warrants, even if they're very non-specific) but they can help you improve too.
Fact of the day:
You had a long post, so you get an article as opposed to me writing more.
Basically, there's good cholesterol and bad cholesterol. You want low bad cholesterol, and high good cholesterol. Here's some tips on achieving the latter.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Books n Songs
So, John Green made a video about literature, so I thought I'd share it.
And his newest book, The Fault in Our Stars, was voted one of the ten best books of the year! That's amazing! Congratulationsssss!
It was a good book.
I think I've been singing too many romance-ey songs recently. It's put me in the strangest mood. Though not a bad one.
Although maybe right now it's just beause I'm hungry...
While at first it might seem like I should blame Nicole, who got me hooked on Your Song and Come What May (from Moulin Rouge. I have no real opinion of the movie, but I did like the ending with the play. And I loved a bunch of the songs!). But there's plenty of other songs that I've known for a long time. Like a ton of the Beatles songs, Ai no Melody, and People Will Say we're in Love, not to mention all them Disney songs.
Except, looking at these titles, these aren't the ones I've been singing in the car for the past few weeks.
Yeah, okay.
I blame Nicole.
I think it's them songs from Moulin Rouge.
~~Listeeeen to my heaaaaaart, can you heeeeaaaaar it siiing!~~
I guess it's inevitable. New songs just eat my brain sometimes. Like when Nick made me listen to Defying Gravity, from Wicked (There's nowhere to watch it, so I had to watch it on some illegal video someone took of the original play, which was all fuzzy in both visual and audio, so I missed some details. But it was good!). That one still floats around a lot too. It will dissipate eventually. I wonder when my next brain-eater songs will come along.
It's really late, and I"m really tired. Can you tell by my nonsensical blabbing?
~~Yours are the sweeetest eyes that IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII've ever seeeeeeen!~~
And his newest book, The Fault in Our Stars, was voted one of the ten best books of the year! That's amazing! Congratulationsssss!
It was a good book.
I think I've been singing too many romance-ey songs recently. It's put me in the strangest mood. Though not a bad one.
Although maybe right now it's just beause I'm hungry...
While at first it might seem like I should blame Nicole, who got me hooked on Your Song and Come What May (from Moulin Rouge. I have no real opinion of the movie, but I did like the ending with the play. And I loved a bunch of the songs!). But there's plenty of other songs that I've known for a long time. Like a ton of the Beatles songs, Ai no Melody, and People Will Say we're in Love, not to mention all them Disney songs.
Except, looking at these titles, these aren't the ones I've been singing in the car for the past few weeks.
Yeah, okay.
I blame Nicole.
I think it's them songs from Moulin Rouge.
~~Listeeeen to my heaaaaaart, can you heeeeaaaaar it siiing!~~
I guess it's inevitable. New songs just eat my brain sometimes. Like when Nick made me listen to Defying Gravity, from Wicked (There's nowhere to watch it, so I had to watch it on some illegal video someone took of the original play, which was all fuzzy in both visual and audio, so I missed some details. But it was good!). That one still floats around a lot too. It will dissipate eventually. I wonder when my next brain-eater songs will come along.
It's really late, and I"m really tired. Can you tell by my nonsensical blabbing?
~~Yours are the sweeetest eyes that IIIIIIIIIIIIIIII've ever seeeeeeen!~~
Friday, November 9, 2012
Application Done
Phew.
Finally got the last apart of my application submitted this morning.
I sent off a lot of it about a week ago - my writing sample and the rest of the stuff that needed to go to the creative writing department.
Then I had to do the online application for the school. They're annoying. Bleh.
But I finally finished this morning.
So, as far as I know, I have officially finished applying for my creative writing graduate program!!
(It's cool hearing about how you develop your world, Crystal!)
Fact of the day:
I'll just give you an article. Because we have such screwy food and stuff nowadays.
8 Ingredients You Never Want to See on Your Nutrition Label
Finally got the last apart of my application submitted this morning.
I sent off a lot of it about a week ago - my writing sample and the rest of the stuff that needed to go to the creative writing department.
Then I had to do the online application for the school. They're annoying. Bleh.
But I finally finished this morning.
So, as far as I know, I have officially finished applying for my creative writing graduate program!!
(It's cool hearing about how you develop your world, Crystal!)
Fact of the day:
I'll just give you an article. Because we have such screwy food and stuff nowadays.
8 Ingredients You Never Want to See on Your Nutrition Label
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Deforestation Plot
I really need to stop watching depressing documentaries. The last one I rented was about how horrible Wal Mart is. So boycott it. It's horrible in may ways. To its employees, the surrounding community, and the environment.
Ok, enough of that.
I'll start writing about the environmental plots I mentioned. I'll start with the easiest one first.
Cutting down forests.
Definitely the one you see the most of, though a lot of the details are often absent.
It's definitely a very important topic. And one most people agree on.
We lose thousands of acres of rain forest daily.
Rain forests have some of the highest biodiversity (number of species) in the world. And rain forest species are going extinct at an unprecedented rate. And a lot of these are plant species. The plant species in the rain forests can have a wide range of medicinal values. There's supposedly a mixture that can be made from Amazon plants that will cure diabetes. So, we know that a lot of these plants have medicinal value. But there are countless unidentified species in the rain forest, plenty of which go extinct before we ever discover them. An argument I've heard before is that perhaps one of these plants can cure cancer, but we may never know because it could go extinct before we even discover it.
Why are forests being cleared?
In the old days, it was to make room for the expanding human popluations.
Today you might think it's for logging. And to an extent, that's true. That's definitely true for the old-growth forests in America. There is only a small fraction of old-growth forests left in America, such as redwoods, whose wood is very valuable. The vast majority of American forests was clear-cut long ago and has regrown, though it does not display the characteristics of the ancient forests. The trees are younger, and the complicated network of species hasn't regrown. Many animals require ancient forests to live. Despite the small amount of old-growth forest left, it's still being logged at a frightening rate.
But the reason for deforestation in the rain forests is to make room for agriculture. A lot of crops are grown in areas where rain forests once grew. The problem is that the nutrient content of rain forest soil is very low. So it makes very poor farmland. This probably leads to a huge use of chemical fertilizers. And most of the trees that they clear are simply burned, since it's not economical for them to sell the wood.
Another problem that's often not thought of are the human inhabitants of the forests. These are people that have been living sustainably off of the land for decades or centuries. When the modern world creeps in, it introduces that desire for more. While before they were content to hunt as much as they needed to live, now they'll want to hunt more so they can sell it and make a profit to buy televisions and things they never knew they needed until recently. But just as important is the fact that these ancient cultures are getting snuffed out as modern languages and lifestyles are picked up (Human Planet is a great series about the humans who still live off of the land).
Roads are often the very worst thing for a forest. They let people intrude deep into the wilderness with rifles and saws. They open up areas that were previously inaccessible.
Fragmentation is another big problem. As forests are shrunken down and broken apart by roads and cities, it becomes much harder for animals to move between the remaining pieces of forest. This will make it harder for them to search for food and mates. If you get small enough populations stuck in small enough areas, you'll get in-breeding. It can have a big effect on their gene pool as different populations are cut off from each other.
All of this may seem bad enough. Our forests are disappearing and the animals and plants are dieing off. But it's not as simple as trees getting cut down.
Trees use something called transpiration. Trees need to pull a constant flow of water from their roots up to their leaves. They can't let this flow break. Since the flow of water is constantly happening, the tree brings up much more water than it actually needs. It releases excess water vapor through its leaves. Large forests release so much water this way that it has a significant effect on the local climate. Especially in rain forests. If the number of trees is reduced by a certain amount, there will no longer be enough trees to release enough water into the air. What this means, is that if enough trees are cut down, the climate in the rain-forests will become drier and could destroy what remains of the moisture-loving ecosystem. Evidence of this is already beginning to appear.
You may think that it's easy to tell people to stop cutting down forests. But it's never that simple. People's jobs depend on logging and clear-cutting. The families that set up farms in cleared rain forests use that land to grow food for their families. The fate of a few trees and animals isn't as important to them as the fate of their children. And there's a demand for farmland and timber, or the deforestation wouldn't happen in the first place. It's a deep problem that has to do with humanity's huge consumption rate.
I don't think I really need to explain how you can use this topic. It's been done so often before. It's a pretty simple scenario. People cut down the forests, and the creatures that live in the forest get mad and fight back. You can have all kinds of fun with the creatures you decide to put in the forests. House-sized insects, little orange loraxes, moving trees, or blue people with tails.
Princess Mononoke
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
The Lorax
Fern Gully
Origin: Spirits of the Past
Lord of the Rings
Avatar
Ok, enough of that.
I'll start writing about the environmental plots I mentioned. I'll start with the easiest one first.
Cutting down forests.
Definitely the one you see the most of, though a lot of the details are often absent.
It's definitely a very important topic. And one most people agree on.
We lose thousands of acres of rain forest daily.
Rain forests have some of the highest biodiversity (number of species) in the world. And rain forest species are going extinct at an unprecedented rate. And a lot of these are plant species. The plant species in the rain forests can have a wide range of medicinal values. There's supposedly a mixture that can be made from Amazon plants that will cure diabetes. So, we know that a lot of these plants have medicinal value. But there are countless unidentified species in the rain forest, plenty of which go extinct before we ever discover them. An argument I've heard before is that perhaps one of these plants can cure cancer, but we may never know because it could go extinct before we even discover it.
Why are forests being cleared?
In the old days, it was to make room for the expanding human popluations.
Today you might think it's for logging. And to an extent, that's true. That's definitely true for the old-growth forests in America. There is only a small fraction of old-growth forests left in America, such as redwoods, whose wood is very valuable. The vast majority of American forests was clear-cut long ago and has regrown, though it does not display the characteristics of the ancient forests. The trees are younger, and the complicated network of species hasn't regrown. Many animals require ancient forests to live. Despite the small amount of old-growth forest left, it's still being logged at a frightening rate.
But the reason for deforestation in the rain forests is to make room for agriculture. A lot of crops are grown in areas where rain forests once grew. The problem is that the nutrient content of rain forest soil is very low. So it makes very poor farmland. This probably leads to a huge use of chemical fertilizers. And most of the trees that they clear are simply burned, since it's not economical for them to sell the wood.
Another problem that's often not thought of are the human inhabitants of the forests. These are people that have been living sustainably off of the land for decades or centuries. When the modern world creeps in, it introduces that desire for more. While before they were content to hunt as much as they needed to live, now they'll want to hunt more so they can sell it and make a profit to buy televisions and things they never knew they needed until recently. But just as important is the fact that these ancient cultures are getting snuffed out as modern languages and lifestyles are picked up (Human Planet is a great series about the humans who still live off of the land).
Roads are often the very worst thing for a forest. They let people intrude deep into the wilderness with rifles and saws. They open up areas that were previously inaccessible.
Fragmentation is another big problem. As forests are shrunken down and broken apart by roads and cities, it becomes much harder for animals to move between the remaining pieces of forest. This will make it harder for them to search for food and mates. If you get small enough populations stuck in small enough areas, you'll get in-breeding. It can have a big effect on their gene pool as different populations are cut off from each other.
All of this may seem bad enough. Our forests are disappearing and the animals and plants are dieing off. But it's not as simple as trees getting cut down.
Trees use something called transpiration. Trees need to pull a constant flow of water from their roots up to their leaves. They can't let this flow break. Since the flow of water is constantly happening, the tree brings up much more water than it actually needs. It releases excess water vapor through its leaves. Large forests release so much water this way that it has a significant effect on the local climate. Especially in rain forests. If the number of trees is reduced by a certain amount, there will no longer be enough trees to release enough water into the air. What this means, is that if enough trees are cut down, the climate in the rain-forests will become drier and could destroy what remains of the moisture-loving ecosystem. Evidence of this is already beginning to appear.
You may think that it's easy to tell people to stop cutting down forests. But it's never that simple. People's jobs depend on logging and clear-cutting. The families that set up farms in cleared rain forests use that land to grow food for their families. The fate of a few trees and animals isn't as important to them as the fate of their children. And there's a demand for farmland and timber, or the deforestation wouldn't happen in the first place. It's a deep problem that has to do with humanity's huge consumption rate.
I don't think I really need to explain how you can use this topic. It's been done so often before. It's a pretty simple scenario. People cut down the forests, and the creatures that live in the forest get mad and fight back. You can have all kinds of fun with the creatures you decide to put in the forests. House-sized insects, little orange loraxes, moving trees, or blue people with tails.
Princess Mononoke
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
The Lorax
Fern Gully
Origin: Spirits of the Past
Lord of the Rings
Avatar
Friday, November 2, 2012
Leopard Fern Reference Sheet
Since leopard spots are a pain, I drew Fern's clouded leopard form from several angles so I could get the pattern consistent. I had to go back and tweak the other pictures I've done of her though.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Plots for the Planet
I've been thinking about this for a while.
Some people have a lot of good story ideas. Characters, finales, scenes. But not necessarily plots. And finding an interesting plot that hasn't been done to death can be hard.
And as I'm sure you know, I'm into protecting the environment.
Combining the two is an excellent idea. Why not make your plot environmental?
There's a lot of great environmental movies/stories out there. The Lorax, Princess Mononoke, Fern Gully, Avatar, Nausicaa, and so on.
But what do all of these have in common?
They all focus on the same problem.
Cutting down trees.
Which is a problem. And one that most people agree is bad.
And while plenty of amazing things have come from this plot, it's one of the most simple topics. There are so many more you could use. And in the right hands, you could do fascinating stuff with these too.
the thing about them is they are often very controversial. Which is a great thing for stories. You can have people on both sides, with valid arguments and motivations to throw at each other.
Blending it with sci-fi and fantasy aspects can make it even more awesome.
What I'll be doing for a while is going through a list I've made of the big environmental problems we face. I'll write a post about each one, why it's a problem, what you can possibly do with it, where it may have been used before, and possibly some sources where you can learn about it. And I'll link to each of those posts here so they're all easily accessible.
Deforestation
Energy - Oil
Energy - Coal
Energy Plot 3 - Natural Gas and Nuclear
Energy Plot 4 - Solar and Wind
Energy Plot 5 - Hydro, Biofuel, Hydrogen, and Geothermal
Energy Plot 6: Bringing it all Together
Waste
Habitat Destruction
Water Pollution and Scarcity
Extinction
Air Pollution
Agriculture
Climate Change
Over-Harvesting
Environmental Thought
Odds and Ends
Some people have a lot of good story ideas. Characters, finales, scenes. But not necessarily plots. And finding an interesting plot that hasn't been done to death can be hard.
And as I'm sure you know, I'm into protecting the environment.
Combining the two is an excellent idea. Why not make your plot environmental?
There's a lot of great environmental movies/stories out there. The Lorax, Princess Mononoke, Fern Gully, Avatar, Nausicaa, and so on.
But what do all of these have in common?
They all focus on the same problem.
Cutting down trees.
Which is a problem. And one that most people agree is bad.
And while plenty of amazing things have come from this plot, it's one of the most simple topics. There are so many more you could use. And in the right hands, you could do fascinating stuff with these too.
the thing about them is they are often very controversial. Which is a great thing for stories. You can have people on both sides, with valid arguments and motivations to throw at each other.
Blending it with sci-fi and fantasy aspects can make it even more awesome.
What I'll be doing for a while is going through a list I've made of the big environmental problems we face. I'll write a post about each one, why it's a problem, what you can possibly do with it, where it may have been used before, and possibly some sources where you can learn about it. And I'll link to each of those posts here so they're all easily accessible.
Deforestation
Energy - Oil
Energy - Coal
Energy Plot 3 - Natural Gas and Nuclear
Energy Plot 4 - Solar and Wind
Energy Plot 5 - Hydro, Biofuel, Hydrogen, and Geothermal
Energy Plot 6: Bringing it all Together
Waste
Habitat Destruction
Water Pollution and Scarcity
Extinction
Air Pollution
Agriculture
Climate Change
Over-Harvesting
Environmental Thought
Odds and Ends
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Animal Rights?
So, I went to the Rodeo with Dad yesterday.
It's always a fun thing to go to.
Today I rode the mechanical bull. I haven't done that in years.
I asked the lady at the controls. She said that the hardness of the ride went up to level 10. And I rode all the way up to 7! Whoo! I felt much prouder of myself that was really necessary. Considering a bunch of people in the building were about to jump on the backs of real bulls (and I think only two guys ended up staying on the 8 seconds?).
But bull riding wasn't the only event.
Now, anyone who knows me knows that I love animals, and am completely for animal rights.
I don't think rodeos are bad for the animals. For the bucking animals (horses and bulls) they get treated great most of their lives. When their careers are over, they're put to pasture and get to have a lot of babies. All they gotta do is get an annoying belt tied around them so they can thrash around for about 10 seconds.
For the bull-dogging and calf-roping, it may seem tough on the animals, but they're not getting hurt.
It's really only the people that get hurt. There's a reason that bull riding is considered one of the most dangerous sports. And there were some close calls. Like one guy, who got kicked in the head by the bull.
So, yes. I'm all for animal rights.
But PETA is just plain freaky sometimes.
Like when they said that we should make ice cream out of human milk.
And then Dad showed me this newspaper article from a couple days ago. About how PETA thinks that Pokémon teaches kids to abuse animals, because you make Pokémon fight each other.
Freaking seriously?
Anyone who's had even a couple minutes experience with Pokémon already knows that that's garbage. Pokémon is all about living together and cooperating with Pokémon. And you don't battle Pokémon unless they want and like to battle.
PETA used the release of Black and White 2 as an opportunity to release some stupid game of their own where you beat up Pokémon trainers.
Now, again, I love animals. My animals are practically like my siblings. I spend hours every week feeding baby animals and cleaning up after animals at the wildlife center.
But PETA goes too far. If you look at the extreme of any side, you're unlikely to like what you find. If anything, they're turning people off, and just hurting the goal they say they're aiming for. This is just a desperate bid for attention.
It's always a fun thing to go to.
Today I rode the mechanical bull. I haven't done that in years.
I asked the lady at the controls. She said that the hardness of the ride went up to level 10. And I rode all the way up to 7! Whoo! I felt much prouder of myself that was really necessary. Considering a bunch of people in the building were about to jump on the backs of real bulls (and I think only two guys ended up staying on the 8 seconds?).
But bull riding wasn't the only event.
Now, anyone who knows me knows that I love animals, and am completely for animal rights.
I don't think rodeos are bad for the animals. For the bucking animals (horses and bulls) they get treated great most of their lives. When their careers are over, they're put to pasture and get to have a lot of babies. All they gotta do is get an annoying belt tied around them so they can thrash around for about 10 seconds.
For the bull-dogging and calf-roping, it may seem tough on the animals, but they're not getting hurt.
It's really only the people that get hurt. There's a reason that bull riding is considered one of the most dangerous sports. And there were some close calls. Like one guy, who got kicked in the head by the bull.
So, yes. I'm all for animal rights.
But PETA is just plain freaky sometimes.
Like when they said that we should make ice cream out of human milk.
And then Dad showed me this newspaper article from a couple days ago. About how PETA thinks that Pokémon teaches kids to abuse animals, because you make Pokémon fight each other.
Freaking seriously?
Anyone who's had even a couple minutes experience with Pokémon already knows that that's garbage. Pokémon is all about living together and cooperating with Pokémon. And you don't battle Pokémon unless they want and like to battle.
PETA used the release of Black and White 2 as an opportunity to release some stupid game of their own where you beat up Pokémon trainers.
Now, again, I love animals. My animals are practically like my siblings. I spend hours every week feeding baby animals and cleaning up after animals at the wildlife center.
But PETA goes too far. If you look at the extreme of any side, you're unlikely to like what you find. If anything, they're turning people off, and just hurting the goal they say they're aiming for. This is just a desperate bid for attention.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Change Part 2
So, finishing off the talk about that "neuroscience of Change" program.
I finished it, so I'll talk about the last 2 disks.
Think about the deeper motivations of your goal (Going back to the previous example). Do you want to lose weight so you look better?
A bit deeper than that. To improve your health, maybe.
And even deeper. better health will make you feel better and more secure throughout your life.
If there's something you want to avoid thinking about (like a big box of truffles in your cabinet), if you try to shove that idea out of your mind, it will actually become more firmly rooted. The best thing to do is acknowledge whatever it is you want to avoid thinking about. And once you've experienced that desire or thought, remind yourself that you're not supposed to eat candy today. This is a much more successful way to avoid something.
If you want to change a habit, the thing that is most proven to help is to make a schedule for yourself. The more detailed, the better. Don't just say "I'm going to eat less and exercise more." Plan out when you'll exercise, and what you'll do. Plan out the healthy foods that you're going to eat, and for which meals.
When you have a schedule, it means that you've already made the decision to change, instead of having to make that decision when lunch time rolls around. And when you're stressed (and more likely to revert to old habits) a schedule will keep you on track, since the decision to follow your goal has already been made.
I finished it, so I'll talk about the last 2 disks.
Think about the deeper motivations of your goal (Going back to the previous example). Do you want to lose weight so you look better?
A bit deeper than that. To improve your health, maybe.
And even deeper. better health will make you feel better and more secure throughout your life.
If there's something you want to avoid thinking about (like a big box of truffles in your cabinet), if you try to shove that idea out of your mind, it will actually become more firmly rooted. The best thing to do is acknowledge whatever it is you want to avoid thinking about. And once you've experienced that desire or thought, remind yourself that you're not supposed to eat candy today. This is a much more successful way to avoid something.
If you want to change a habit, the thing that is most proven to help is to make a schedule for yourself. The more detailed, the better. Don't just say "I'm going to eat less and exercise more." Plan out when you'll exercise, and what you'll do. Plan out the healthy foods that you're going to eat, and for which meals.
When you have a schedule, it means that you've already made the decision to change, instead of having to make that decision when lunch time rolls around. And when you're stressed (and more likely to revert to old habits) a schedule will keep you on track, since the decision to follow your goal has already been made.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
Dominic and Nam
And here's the 4th installment for the Red Team. Now I just need to do Saris and Samara.
Dominic is a Singer, and he taught Nam (a Dawn dragon) to sing. That's what they're doing here: Singing. And Dominic is sitting on Nam's arm, in case that's not clear.
Nam is pretty young here. She'll grow to be at least twice this size.
I didn't have a very strong idea of what Nam looked like. Same is true for Samara and the Green Team dragons (I'm gonna draw them after Saris and Samara. The Emperor and Chao too). Drawing Nam was very helpful.
Dominic is a Singer, and he taught Nam (a Dawn dragon) to sing. That's what they're doing here: Singing. And Dominic is sitting on Nam's arm, in case that's not clear.
Nam is pretty young here. She'll grow to be at least twice this size.
I didn't have a very strong idea of what Nam looked like. Same is true for Samara and the Green Team dragons (I'm gonna draw them after Saris and Samara. The Emperor and Chao too). Drawing Nam was very helpful.
Tri and Selven
Continuing on drawing the people and dragons in Katani's Team.
Here's Tri and Selven. Selven is a Serpent dragon.
Thanks to Crystal for coming up with Tri's design. Though his hair dislikes me. Or at least dislikes my attempts to draw it.
I started drawing Selven, and then realized that I should be drawing Tri too. But by the time I realized that, there wasn't enough room on the page to do anything normal. So Tri's just floating over there, wondering where the gravity went.
Selven is very fain about his mane. He's always asking Tri to brush it for him. And Tri is a long dragon, so that's a big undertaking. Fortunately Melly doesn't mind helping out sometimes. Even though Mekki has a lot more fur than Selven does. You'd think brushing Mekki would make her sick of fur.
Here's Tri and Selven. Selven is a Serpent dragon.
Thanks to Crystal for coming up with Tri's design. Though his hair dislikes me. Or at least dislikes my attempts to draw it.
Selven is very fain about his mane. He's always asking Tri to brush it for him. And Tri is a long dragon, so that's a big undertaking. Fortunately Melly doesn't mind helping out sometimes. Even though Mekki has a lot more fur than Selven does. You'd think brushing Mekki would make her sick of fur.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Changing
My mom got this program (I thought it was a book on tape, but apparently it's just an audio program) called "The Neuroscience of Change," by Kelly McGonigal. It's not as daunting as the title makes it sound
I'm most of the way through it, and it's pretty fascinating so far.
What the program is about is how the brain reacts to and accepts changes. It talks about why it's so hard to make changes in your life (for example, eating less or quitting smoking). Even when you're fully committed to changing said behavior, it's so easy to forget, or to get distracted. She explains why this is and how to get around it. This is backed up by scientific studies about brain activity as well as things that some people would call "spiritual," such as meditation.
I thought I'd talk about some of the points that I found interesting (and that I think I can sufficiently explain). It's pretty fascinating, and I recommend listening to it. Especially if you have something you want to change in your life (like procrastination, keeping your temper, ex). There's no way I can explain everything here.
Say you're sitting in a room, and no one is around and you have nothing to do. Your mind will start exploring the past and the future, roaming all over the place. This is so even when you're trying to relax. This is the default state of our mind.
If you ever try to meditate (and you're not experienced with it already) this mental activity can be a big distraction. And you can learn to slow your mind down and experience the moment. That's what meditation does. And it can help our mind in a lot of ways. Including changing your behavior.
For the next point, I'll use an example she uses in the program because a lot of people can identify with it (or at least a lot of Americans can, since a huge percentage of Americans are overweight). If this isn't a problem for you, then substitute some sort of behavior you want to change.
You want to eat less so that you can lose some weight. And one evening you get really driven about this and think "OKAY! I will eat less and exercise more, and soon enough I will look fabulous!"
And then before you know it, you just ate a really big meal, or a bunch of junk food and you haven't taken more than 20 steps all day.
In response to this, people will often mentally beat themselves up and criticize themselves. But self criticism will actually only lock us further in our habits. She compares this to prison. How successful is the punishment of prison in stopping criminals from misbehaving? Often not very.
What will actually help us is to be self-compassionate. This does not mean that we say "oh, it wasn't my fault that I ate all that food," or "I blame him! He's the one that made me eat all that!" That won't get you anywhere either. But you need to be understanding with yourself, as you might be with a friend who came to you with a problem. The thing is, it's pretty easy for us to be compassionate with a friend who has a problem. But many people have a real problem with being compassionate with themselves. What she suggests is to pretend like you're talking to yourself as a separate person.
Now on to habits. Our brain forms habits so that it doesn't have to use as much energy in making decisions. And for the most part, habits can be very helpful (like when you're driving home and you don't really need to think about the route you're taking). But, of course, there are some habits that we want to get rid of. Unfortunately, the brain doesn't really get rid of habits. But that doesn't mean that you can't keep them stored away without using them.
To the food example. You've decided you want to lose weight. You're at home, doing homework or working on a project, or watching TV. Then somehow you're standing in the kitchen, pulling food out of the fridge. How the heck did you get there? You didn't intend to get food. It just happened. This is a habit. You don't think about it. You just do it.
The first thing to do is to catch yourself in the process of this habit. At first, just pay attention as you go into the kitchen. Pay attention to what is going on with you as you follow this habit. And from there, you can take further steps to stop the action when you feel it coming.
When you're stressed, you're much more likely to fall back on your unwanted habits. Even if you thought you were rid of them.
Okay. I'll report in again once I've listened to the rest of the program.
I'm most of the way through it, and it's pretty fascinating so far.
What the program is about is how the brain reacts to and accepts changes. It talks about why it's so hard to make changes in your life (for example, eating less or quitting smoking). Even when you're fully committed to changing said behavior, it's so easy to forget, or to get distracted. She explains why this is and how to get around it. This is backed up by scientific studies about brain activity as well as things that some people would call "spiritual," such as meditation.
I thought I'd talk about some of the points that I found interesting (and that I think I can sufficiently explain). It's pretty fascinating, and I recommend listening to it. Especially if you have something you want to change in your life (like procrastination, keeping your temper, ex). There's no way I can explain everything here.
Say you're sitting in a room, and no one is around and you have nothing to do. Your mind will start exploring the past and the future, roaming all over the place. This is so even when you're trying to relax. This is the default state of our mind.
If you ever try to meditate (and you're not experienced with it already) this mental activity can be a big distraction. And you can learn to slow your mind down and experience the moment. That's what meditation does. And it can help our mind in a lot of ways. Including changing your behavior.
For the next point, I'll use an example she uses in the program because a lot of people can identify with it (or at least a lot of Americans can, since a huge percentage of Americans are overweight). If this isn't a problem for you, then substitute some sort of behavior you want to change.
You want to eat less so that you can lose some weight. And one evening you get really driven about this and think "OKAY! I will eat less and exercise more, and soon enough I will look fabulous!"
And then before you know it, you just ate a really big meal, or a bunch of junk food and you haven't taken more than 20 steps all day.
In response to this, people will often mentally beat themselves up and criticize themselves. But self criticism will actually only lock us further in our habits. She compares this to prison. How successful is the punishment of prison in stopping criminals from misbehaving? Often not very.
What will actually help us is to be self-compassionate. This does not mean that we say "oh, it wasn't my fault that I ate all that food," or "I blame him! He's the one that made me eat all that!" That won't get you anywhere either. But you need to be understanding with yourself, as you might be with a friend who came to you with a problem. The thing is, it's pretty easy for us to be compassionate with a friend who has a problem. But many people have a real problem with being compassionate with themselves. What she suggests is to pretend like you're talking to yourself as a separate person.
Now on to habits. Our brain forms habits so that it doesn't have to use as much energy in making decisions. And for the most part, habits can be very helpful (like when you're driving home and you don't really need to think about the route you're taking). But, of course, there are some habits that we want to get rid of. Unfortunately, the brain doesn't really get rid of habits. But that doesn't mean that you can't keep them stored away without using them.
To the food example. You've decided you want to lose weight. You're at home, doing homework or working on a project, or watching TV. Then somehow you're standing in the kitchen, pulling food out of the fridge. How the heck did you get there? You didn't intend to get food. It just happened. This is a habit. You don't think about it. You just do it.
The first thing to do is to catch yourself in the process of this habit. At first, just pay attention as you go into the kitchen. Pay attention to what is going on with you as you follow this habit. And from there, you can take further steps to stop the action when you feel it coming.
When you're stressed, you're much more likely to fall back on your unwanted habits. Even if you thought you were rid of them.
Okay. I'll report in again once I've listened to the rest of the program.
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Dragons: Riders of Berk
I finally caught up with all the episodes!
I've been watching the series based off How to Train Your Dragon. I didn't realize it was out until the first five or so episodes had already been released. But now I'm all caught up. Problem is, the time it plays on TV is when I'm at band. --_--
When I heard they were making a TV series based off HTTYD, I was pretty dubious. Usually when they make a series based off of something like this, it's nowhere near as good as the original movie. I had the same thoughts about the two sequels that are planned.
One of the reasons I was worried was because a while ago, I watched the HTTYD short about the Bonenapper. At the beginning, they kind of hinted that everything was perfect between humans and dragons, which felt too convenient.
Then last week I was stalling from doing my homework. I decided to finally watch the other two shorts.
I liked Gift of a Night Fury. Heheh. When I first saw the little ones, I blurted out, "They're so ugly!" And then about 30 seconds later, I blurted out "they're so cute!" Which one is true?
...
Both, kinda. They're ugly and kinda cute. (As Ellen reminded me, like baby pigeons. They're really ugly, but they behave adorably, so you must love them).
Then I watched the short about the dragon book. I liked that one because stuff about fake species fascinates me (I have a book on the creatures from Star Wars, and another for Avatar. And don't get me started on the dragon books I have).
And once I watched those two shorts, I decided to find the first episode of the series.
And before I knew it, it was past midnight. The only thing that stopped me was that I couldn't find episode seven.
And then tonight I found episodes 7 and 8. So now I'm caught up!
It's pretty darn good! And I can't always predict the endings of them either, which is always a good thing.
And they showed that things are definitely not perfect between the humans and the dragons.
Like how some of the vikings, who have been fighting dragons all their lives, are not happy about having dragons living in the village.
Or that dragons are wild animals, not tame house pets.
Or that animals will be terrified when dragons are swooping around them. When chickens stop laying and cows go dry, that's bad news for a village in the far north.
Sure, the art's not quite as beautiful as the movie, but it's pretty good (then again, I've been watching it on a little box on my computer, so I can't really tell anyway).
But I recommend! If you liked the movie, give the series a try!
Fact of the Day:
The Triple Crown, the most prestigious title in horse racing, requires that the horse win three races: the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes. It's common for a horse to win the first two races. But the third race is what really breaks them. The track for the Belmont Stakes is much longer than the others, so horses that were able to win the first two races will often not have the stamina to win the Belmont Stakes.
Only 11 horses have ever won this prestigious title, and no horse has done so since 1978.
Secretariat won the Triple Crown in 1973 by a staggering margin of 31 lengths (a single length is about 8 feet).
I've been watching the series based off How to Train Your Dragon. I didn't realize it was out until the first five or so episodes had already been released. But now I'm all caught up. Problem is, the time it plays on TV is when I'm at band. --_--
When I heard they were making a TV series based off HTTYD, I was pretty dubious. Usually when they make a series based off of something like this, it's nowhere near as good as the original movie. I had the same thoughts about the two sequels that are planned.
One of the reasons I was worried was because a while ago, I watched the HTTYD short about the Bonenapper. At the beginning, they kind of hinted that everything was perfect between humans and dragons, which felt too convenient.
Then last week I was stalling from doing my homework. I decided to finally watch the other two shorts.
I liked Gift of a Night Fury. Heheh. When I first saw the little ones, I blurted out, "They're so ugly!" And then about 30 seconds later, I blurted out "they're so cute!" Which one is true?
...
Both, kinda. They're ugly and kinda cute. (As Ellen reminded me, like baby pigeons. They're really ugly, but they behave adorably, so you must love them).
Then I watched the short about the dragon book. I liked that one because stuff about fake species fascinates me (I have a book on the creatures from Star Wars, and another for Avatar. And don't get me started on the dragon books I have).
And once I watched those two shorts, I decided to find the first episode of the series.
And before I knew it, it was past midnight. The only thing that stopped me was that I couldn't find episode seven.
And then tonight I found episodes 7 and 8. So now I'm caught up!
It's pretty darn good! And I can't always predict the endings of them either, which is always a good thing.
And they showed that things are definitely not perfect between the humans and the dragons.
Like how some of the vikings, who have been fighting dragons all their lives, are not happy about having dragons living in the village.
Or that dragons are wild animals, not tame house pets.
Or that animals will be terrified when dragons are swooping around them. When chickens stop laying and cows go dry, that's bad news for a village in the far north.
Sure, the art's not quite as beautiful as the movie, but it's pretty good (then again, I've been watching it on a little box on my computer, so I can't really tell anyway).
But I recommend! If you liked the movie, give the series a try!
Fact of the Day:
The Triple Crown, the most prestigious title in horse racing, requires that the horse win three races: the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness, and the Belmont Stakes. It's common for a horse to win the first two races. But the third race is what really breaks them. The track for the Belmont Stakes is much longer than the others, so horses that were able to win the first two races will often not have the stamina to win the Belmont Stakes.
Only 11 horses have ever won this prestigious title, and no horse has done so since 1978.
Secretariat won the Triple Crown in 1973 by a staggering margin of 31 lengths (a single length is about 8 feet).
Saturday, October 6, 2012
Japanese Gift Giving
To start I'm going to talk about something my coworker told me about living in Japan.
Everything in Japan is muzukashii (difficult) or mendokusai (a pain in the butt)
When he first said this, I laughed so hard, because it's so true.
It's easily the simplest way to describe Japanese culture, and possible to a similar extent, Asian culture.
Time for some anecdotes.
Normally when you get a present for your birthday, graduation, or whatever else, you send a thank you card. Simple enough. In Japan there's a whole process.
Let's say you want to give someone a present. You don't just hand it to them and say "congratulations, here ya go". No. You have to say, "Oh it's not much, but here's something for you." or "It probably won't be to your liking, but please accept this." or "My stupid daughter made this cake, it's probably not very good, but please try it."
Yes, they will actually call their children stupid, dumb, idiotic, slow, bad, horrible, etc. They don't necessarily mean it. It's a way of being polite by lowering themselves/their present.
So you've given them a gift yay! Let's talk about getting a gift.
When you receive a gift, you must send a thank you gift.
Ok fine.
Your thank you gift must be at least 1/2 of the value of the gift you've received. So you got $100 worth of a present, send back $50 worth of a present
Sure, not a problem.
But when you've received a thank you gift, you're supposed to send a "thank you for the thank you gift" gift. Again, half the value of the present you've received. So 100->50->25
So when you're gotten a "thank you for the thank-you gift" gift, you've got to send another "thank you for the thank you gift for the thank you gift" gift. Again half the price of the most recent gift you've received. 12.50
And then you slowly keep sending and receiving presents until you've whittled the expense to almost nothing. By that point it is acceptable to stop sending thank you gifts.
Also if you go on a trip, even to a town a few hours away, you must, I repeat, MUST, bring back a souvenir (omiyage). Not only to your friends, but to your coworkers, or to anyone else who you've told that you're going, or who will find out you're going. Because they'll talk. I swear they have nothing better to do than talk about the people they know. It's like having to deal with a bunch of high schoolers. You do something, anything, and everybody EVERYBODY will know about it. And if you don't bring back an omiyage (souvenir) you will essentially be telling them, "you're not important enough for an omiyage" and that is a can of worms you do not want to open up.
Passive-aggressiveness. I think the Japanese might have invented that too...
The passive-aggressive wrath of japanese people is something to be feared.
So sound medokusai (troublesome) enough for you?
Well it is to me.
There are so many obligatory occasions for gift-giving too. It's ridiculous. I just sent my family my "first paycheck gift". (I got my first paycheck, although it's technically a start up stipend.) The thing I was supposed to buy was 6000 yen. I bought something for 4600 yen. Shipping was supposed to be 6000 yen. I shipped it for 5000 yen.
Roughly I should have spent $120.00. I spent around $100.00
My net profit from my stipend? about -$20.00
Yes, I lost money this month after working. And that is my example of why gift-giving in Japan is medokusai (a pain in the butt)
Not to say that it isn't nice sometimes, constantly giving and receiving presents. It is nice, and a nice gesture as well. It's just that it's so muzukashii (complicated) that makes it so medokusai. I wouldn't mind if people just gave gifts because they wanted to, rather than because of some societal call for politeness and self-preservation.
Muzukashii and mendokusai.
Everything in Japan is muzukashii (difficult) or mendokusai (a pain in the butt)
When he first said this, I laughed so hard, because it's so true.
It's easily the simplest way to describe Japanese culture, and possible to a similar extent, Asian culture.
Time for some anecdotes.
Normally when you get a present for your birthday, graduation, or whatever else, you send a thank you card. Simple enough. In Japan there's a whole process.
Let's say you want to give someone a present. You don't just hand it to them and say "congratulations, here ya go". No. You have to say, "Oh it's not much, but here's something for you." or "It probably won't be to your liking, but please accept this." or "My stupid daughter made this cake, it's probably not very good, but please try it."
Yes, they will actually call their children stupid, dumb, idiotic, slow, bad, horrible, etc. They don't necessarily mean it. It's a way of being polite by lowering themselves/their present.
So you've given them a gift yay! Let's talk about getting a gift.
When you receive a gift, you must send a thank you gift.
Ok fine.
Your thank you gift must be at least 1/2 of the value of the gift you've received. So you got $100 worth of a present, send back $50 worth of a present
Sure, not a problem.
But when you've received a thank you gift, you're supposed to send a "thank you for the thank you gift" gift. Again, half the value of the present you've received. So 100->50->25
So when you're gotten a "thank you for the thank-you gift" gift, you've got to send another "thank you for the thank you gift for the thank you gift" gift. Again half the price of the most recent gift you've received. 12.50
And then you slowly keep sending and receiving presents until you've whittled the expense to almost nothing. By that point it is acceptable to stop sending thank you gifts.
Also if you go on a trip, even to a town a few hours away, you must, I repeat, MUST, bring back a souvenir (omiyage). Not only to your friends, but to your coworkers, or to anyone else who you've told that you're going, or who will find out you're going. Because they'll talk. I swear they have nothing better to do than talk about the people they know. It's like having to deal with a bunch of high schoolers. You do something, anything, and everybody EVERYBODY will know about it. And if you don't bring back an omiyage (souvenir) you will essentially be telling them, "you're not important enough for an omiyage" and that is a can of worms you do not want to open up.
Passive-aggressiveness. I think the Japanese might have invented that too...
The passive-aggressive wrath of japanese people is something to be feared.
So sound medokusai (troublesome) enough for you?
Well it is to me.
There are so many obligatory occasions for gift-giving too. It's ridiculous. I just sent my family my "first paycheck gift". (I got my first paycheck, although it's technically a start up stipend.) The thing I was supposed to buy was 6000 yen. I bought something for 4600 yen. Shipping was supposed to be 6000 yen. I shipped it for 5000 yen.
Roughly I should have spent $120.00. I spent around $100.00
My net profit from my stipend? about -$20.00
Yes, I lost money this month after working. And that is my example of why gift-giving in Japan is medokusai (a pain in the butt)
Not to say that it isn't nice sometimes, constantly giving and receiving presents. It is nice, and a nice gesture as well. It's just that it's so muzukashii (complicated) that makes it so medokusai. I wouldn't mind if people just gave gifts because they wanted to, rather than because of some societal call for politeness and self-preservation.
Muzukashii and mendokusai.
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
First Commission!!!
Whooo! Soo excited! I just got my first real commission!
A couple days ago, I went back to my rather neglected Etsy account. I discovered that I could add an option to make an item custom. Becaue unless I make an item with someone else in mind, I'm unlikely to want to sell anything I make. This is because I will make something that I want to keep instead of something I want to sell. The only time this doesn't happen is when I improve sufficiently that I no longer like some of my older plushies. Of course, those plushies aren't really good enough to sell anyway.
So I put up three custom listings, for the three different horse/pony patterns I've been working on. Maybe I should put up one for baby Mewtwo. Someone asked me about buying one. But I haven't heard back from him...
This is the first pattern I figured out:
The original came online, but I've tweaked it significantly.
Then the bigger, huggable version that lies down:
I made this one entirely myself.
And then my newest, sitting pony:
I got the idea from the Eevee evolutions I made earlier. But this one is very different from the original I've found. I've mainly just kept the little slit that makes the character sit.
I figured I'd start them on the cheaper side. I might raise prices a bit whenever I get an order. Since considering the time involved in these, this doesn't give me the best deal.
And then about half an hour ago, someone noted me, asking if I could make a standing pony for them!
Whooo! Sooo excited!
My first commission!!
Gotta go and get some of the right color fabric for the body. But I can start on the hair at least. Though I have classes all day tomorrow. Sigh.
So, while I should be doing homework, instead I'm designing the eyes for this guy. He's not a character from the show. He's some character turned into pony-form. Not sure who he is though. His name is Zero, and he's from something called Borderlands.
Maybe I should try to give him a face more like the guy ponies. I'll see if that works.
A couple days ago, I went back to my rather neglected Etsy account. I discovered that I could add an option to make an item custom. Becaue unless I make an item with someone else in mind, I'm unlikely to want to sell anything I make. This is because I will make something that I want to keep instead of something I want to sell. The only time this doesn't happen is when I improve sufficiently that I no longer like some of my older plushies. Of course, those plushies aren't really good enough to sell anyway.
So I put up three custom listings, for the three different horse/pony patterns I've been working on. Maybe I should put up one for baby Mewtwo. Someone asked me about buying one. But I haven't heard back from him...
This is the first pattern I figured out:
Then the bigger, huggable version that lies down:
And then my newest, sitting pony:
I figured I'd start them on the cheaper side. I might raise prices a bit whenever I get an order. Since considering the time involved in these, this doesn't give me the best deal.
And then about half an hour ago, someone noted me, asking if I could make a standing pony for them!
Whooo! Sooo excited!
My first commission!!
Gotta go and get some of the right color fabric for the body. But I can start on the hair at least. Though I have classes all day tomorrow. Sigh.
So, while I should be doing homework, instead I'm designing the eyes for this guy. He's not a character from the show. He's some character turned into pony-form. Not sure who he is though. His name is Zero, and he's from something called Borderlands.
Maybe I should try to give him a face more like the guy ponies. I'll see if that works.
Sitting in a Sauna
OK, been busy, so I'll finally explain what the second day of being a stand-in was like.
The actress's name is Elizabeth Rohm. I don't think I've seen anything that she's in though.
Significantly less interesting than the first day. This scene was inside, and I was part of a small audience for a choir concert. No more volleyball. TT^TT
It was still really hot.
And this time there were a bunch of us packed into a small room filled with bright, hot filming lamps.
Which doubly sucks, because I know that that room usually has great air conditioning. None today though.
When Mom and I got there, they put us to the side of the front row. Then they moved us, and I moved to the second row. Then they realized that someone was already sitting there. So I was set aside. Then they found a spot for me on the other end of the second row, with Mom.
It's rather confusing being shunted around, since we need to remember our seat.
The first shoot only had two rows of the audience, and they filmed us from behind as the choir sang.
Then everyone went outside so they could reorganize the room.
When we came back, there were about four or five rows. My chair was gone, so I got moved back to row four. This time they filmed from the front, still the choir singing.
Then we all left again.
Came back and found the room filled with chairs. Maybe 10 rows, or something. And I got moved back up to the second row, next to Mom again.
>-<
Confusing!
This time they were filming people talking. One of the Ananda women spoke to the actress, thanking her, and telling her that she had a big responsibility. Then the actress came up and gave a thank you speech, about how the people made her feel so welcome and that she felt changed.
I'm pretty sure this is the very end of the movie. Hence all the emotional "you changed my life!" stuff.
During the first take, she was actually all choked up. But she wasn't like that on any of the other takes. I suppose... it was acting?
We got there at about 8:30 for breakfast. And we didn't finish until dinner. Maan, long day. A lot of it spent sitting and waiting. At least that was in the air conditioned dining hall. The rest of the sitting was in the hot room, listening to people sing and talk.
And we had to smile during the filming too. It was pretty interesting, in a strange way. So I don't think my smiles got forced or anything.
My Mom does this funny thing sometimes when she's standing, not being actively involved in anything, where she gets this sorta freaky half-smile. She doesn't know she's doing it. She's probably under the impression that she's smiling. I didn't notice if she was doing it, but I caught her doing it before the filming, so I made a face at her to let her know (which is our way of communicating when I catch her doing that). It's actually kinda funny. Though I think if you didn't know her, she might look a bit scary. And someone sitting in an audience making that face would be... weird.
Can't wait to see the movie though! Whoo!
I think it'll be out next year. No idea what it will be called.
After the shoot, I said high to Elizabeth Rohm. To which she responded, "Good night."
The actress's name is Elizabeth Rohm. I don't think I've seen anything that she's in though.
Significantly less interesting than the first day. This scene was inside, and I was part of a small audience for a choir concert. No more volleyball. TT^TT
It was still really hot.
And this time there were a bunch of us packed into a small room filled with bright, hot filming lamps.
Which doubly sucks, because I know that that room usually has great air conditioning. None today though.
When Mom and I got there, they put us to the side of the front row. Then they moved us, and I moved to the second row. Then they realized that someone was already sitting there. So I was set aside. Then they found a spot for me on the other end of the second row, with Mom.
It's rather confusing being shunted around, since we need to remember our seat.
The first shoot only had two rows of the audience, and they filmed us from behind as the choir sang.
Then everyone went outside so they could reorganize the room.
When we came back, there were about four or five rows. My chair was gone, so I got moved back to row four. This time they filmed from the front, still the choir singing.
Then we all left again.
Came back and found the room filled with chairs. Maybe 10 rows, or something. And I got moved back up to the second row, next to Mom again.
>-<
Confusing!
This time they were filming people talking. One of the Ananda women spoke to the actress, thanking her, and telling her that she had a big responsibility. Then the actress came up and gave a thank you speech, about how the people made her feel so welcome and that she felt changed.
I'm pretty sure this is the very end of the movie. Hence all the emotional "you changed my life!" stuff.
During the first take, she was actually all choked up. But she wasn't like that on any of the other takes. I suppose... it was acting?
We got there at about 8:30 for breakfast. And we didn't finish until dinner. Maan, long day. A lot of it spent sitting and waiting. At least that was in the air conditioned dining hall. The rest of the sitting was in the hot room, listening to people sing and talk.
And we had to smile during the filming too. It was pretty interesting, in a strange way. So I don't think my smiles got forced or anything.
My Mom does this funny thing sometimes when she's standing, not being actively involved in anything, where she gets this sorta freaky half-smile. She doesn't know she's doing it. She's probably under the impression that she's smiling. I didn't notice if she was doing it, but I caught her doing it before the filming, so I made a face at her to let her know (which is our way of communicating when I catch her doing that). It's actually kinda funny. Though I think if you didn't know her, she might look a bit scary. And someone sitting in an audience making that face would be... weird.
Can't wait to see the movie though! Whoo!
I think it'll be out next year. No idea what it will be called.
After the shoot, I said high to Elizabeth Rohm. To which she responded, "Good night."
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Background Action
So, although it's not really late, I'm sharing a room with Mom, who's sleeping about four feet away from me. I didn't think she got up that early, but apparently she's really tired. Though she wasn't the one playing volleyball in the crazy dry heat all day (though the heat could have been infinitely worse). So I'm pretty tired too. And staring at a bright laptop screen in a dark room really sucks, even when the screen's turned down all the way.
We're up in Nevada City, at the Ananda Village.
There's a professional film being made, with a real Hollywood actress as the protagonist, and some other professional actors involved as well. I don't know most of the details yet, but I'll keep ya posted. And it's too dark to look up the main actress's name. So you'll get that tomorrow.
Although I'd happily be proved wrong, I don't think this movie will be in most theaters. Again, I'll keep you posted. I'm sure it's got a ways to go before it's officially released.
Anyway, most of this film is being shot up at the Ananda Village. They needed extras, so Mom and I came up to help during the weekend.
When Mom was organizing things, she discovered that there is going to be a volleyball game taking place in the background during one of the scenes we're helping with. So she signed me up to play voleyball.
I was excited, because volleyball is one of the few sports I'm decent at, but I really only ever play it when I come up to the Ananda Village. The last time I took part in a real game (or at least, a full team of decent players playing mostly by the rules) was summer of last year.
When we arrived at the set, they told me that I wasn't supposed to be on the volleyball team. Apparently the guy Mom talked to didn't pass on the information that I was signed up. Which was really annoying, because I'd so been looking forward to playing volleyball. Even if it was really how and dry out, and the field/court had no shade.
But Mom and I checked in with a couple people, and they said that I could be on the team. So I went back and told the lady that seemed to be organizing the volleyball stuff.
We played a few games as warm-up.
And then the lady came up and said that I shouldn't be on the team because I wasn't good enough.
What the hell! I'd only hit the ball a few times! I know I'm not an expert! But none of the other players are either. Sure, I missed some and sent some flying in odd directions. EVERYONE ELSE DID TOO. Many times. And I got in some good hits too.
Really frustrated this time, since they'd already tried to kick me out once.
As I left to figure out what I should do now, I ran into Asha. She's one of the two head people at the Ananda nearest my house. I know her a bit, and was talking to her earlier about how excited I was to do volleyball. So she asked me why I was looking for a new place. I told her they kicked me out.
I went and sat under a tree to read a book, figuring that that was how I'd appear in the background. Then Asha came up and said that she'd get me back into the game, since I'd come all the way up here to play volleyball.
And she did. A few minutes later, another woman came up to me and said that I was to tell the "volleyball woman" (whose name I don't know) that I was going to play volleyball. She must have had significant authority. Because although the volleyball lady was reluctant, she let me join the team.
Thank you, Asha TT^TT
I got to play my volleyball.
And I'm not that freaking bad at volleyball. But I think that lady was doing some sort of silent protest. Because only once during the entire five-hours on-and-off playing did she directly pass me the ball. And she only let me be setter maybe once or twice. I admit that I'm not the best setter. But this isn't a profesional game! We're just background noise! And can't you be more subtle about trying to exclude me? Sheesh! What un-Ananda like behavior!
The rest of the team was good. And we got some really good games going too. And everyone made plenty of mistakes. Including me. But everyone made a ton of amazing moves. Including me.
So, yeah. I had to fight to get my yearly volleyball in. Though I couldn't have gotten it without Asha.
As to the rest of the film stuff.
Most of the people were sitting at tables in front of the market. This was supposed to be a simulation of the Friday pizza nights. Except it's Saturday. And none of it was at night. It was from about 1:00 to 6:00.
But the market was spruced up really nice.
Mom was standing under the porch during most of the shoots. Which didn't look fun. That area was turning into something of a greenhouse.
They had people timed to walk or bike past in the background. They re-shot the first scene a bunch of times. So these two little girls biked past us over and over.
They started cameras a ton of times for each scene. I guess cause they need so many takes. No idea how many separate scenes they shot. Since I was in the field playing volleyball, I didn't see any of the actual acting and scenes.
But at the end, they came and took a closer-up video of us playing volleyball. Which, of course, was after all of us were hot, sweaty, sunburned, and grass-stained. I had green smeared all over one of my favorite pairs of pants. --_-- And I was stupid and dumped a bunch of water on my head right before they did the close-up of us. So there were big wet spots on my shirt.
I smothered my shoulders and chest in sunscreen. I'd gotten my shoulders and neck pretty well burned/tanned over the summer, but I decided to be safer this time. Though I completely forgot about my lips, so they got all burned. They feel all funky and hot. Even though I've currently got chapstick all over them. Hopefully it'll help.
I think we had a lot more fun than the people sitting at the tables, eating pizza (especially because we got to eat some pizza too!).
We're going to help with a couple scenes tomorrow, so I'll let ya know how that goes.
We're up in Nevada City, at the Ananda Village.
There's a professional film being made, with a real Hollywood actress as the protagonist, and some other professional actors involved as well. I don't know most of the details yet, but I'll keep ya posted. And it's too dark to look up the main actress's name. So you'll get that tomorrow.
Although I'd happily be proved wrong, I don't think this movie will be in most theaters. Again, I'll keep you posted. I'm sure it's got a ways to go before it's officially released.
Anyway, most of this film is being shot up at the Ananda Village. They needed extras, so Mom and I came up to help during the weekend.
When Mom was organizing things, she discovered that there is going to be a volleyball game taking place in the background during one of the scenes we're helping with. So she signed me up to play voleyball.
I was excited, because volleyball is one of the few sports I'm decent at, but I really only ever play it when I come up to the Ananda Village. The last time I took part in a real game (or at least, a full team of decent players playing mostly by the rules) was summer of last year.
When we arrived at the set, they told me that I wasn't supposed to be on the volleyball team. Apparently the guy Mom talked to didn't pass on the information that I was signed up. Which was really annoying, because I'd so been looking forward to playing volleyball. Even if it was really how and dry out, and the field/court had no shade.
But Mom and I checked in with a couple people, and they said that I could be on the team. So I went back and told the lady that seemed to be organizing the volleyball stuff.
We played a few games as warm-up.
And then the lady came up and said that I shouldn't be on the team because I wasn't good enough.
What the hell! I'd only hit the ball a few times! I know I'm not an expert! But none of the other players are either. Sure, I missed some and sent some flying in odd directions. EVERYONE ELSE DID TOO. Many times. And I got in some good hits too.
Really frustrated this time, since they'd already tried to kick me out once.
As I left to figure out what I should do now, I ran into Asha. She's one of the two head people at the Ananda nearest my house. I know her a bit, and was talking to her earlier about how excited I was to do volleyball. So she asked me why I was looking for a new place. I told her they kicked me out.
I went and sat under a tree to read a book, figuring that that was how I'd appear in the background. Then Asha came up and said that she'd get me back into the game, since I'd come all the way up here to play volleyball.
And she did. A few minutes later, another woman came up to me and said that I was to tell the "volleyball woman" (whose name I don't know) that I was going to play volleyball. She must have had significant authority. Because although the volleyball lady was reluctant, she let me join the team.
Thank you, Asha TT^TT
I got to play my volleyball.
And I'm not that freaking bad at volleyball. But I think that lady was doing some sort of silent protest. Because only once during the entire five-hours on-and-off playing did she directly pass me the ball. And she only let me be setter maybe once or twice. I admit that I'm not the best setter. But this isn't a profesional game! We're just background noise! And can't you be more subtle about trying to exclude me? Sheesh! What un-Ananda like behavior!
The rest of the team was good. And we got some really good games going too. And everyone made plenty of mistakes. Including me. But everyone made a ton of amazing moves. Including me.
So, yeah. I had to fight to get my yearly volleyball in. Though I couldn't have gotten it without Asha.
As to the rest of the film stuff.
Most of the people were sitting at tables in front of the market. This was supposed to be a simulation of the Friday pizza nights. Except it's Saturday. And none of it was at night. It was from about 1:00 to 6:00.
But the market was spruced up really nice.
Mom was standing under the porch during most of the shoots. Which didn't look fun. That area was turning into something of a greenhouse.
They had people timed to walk or bike past in the background. They re-shot the first scene a bunch of times. So these two little girls biked past us over and over.
They started cameras a ton of times for each scene. I guess cause they need so many takes. No idea how many separate scenes they shot. Since I was in the field playing volleyball, I didn't see any of the actual acting and scenes.
But at the end, they came and took a closer-up video of us playing volleyball. Which, of course, was after all of us were hot, sweaty, sunburned, and grass-stained. I had green smeared all over one of my favorite pairs of pants. --_-- And I was stupid and dumped a bunch of water on my head right before they did the close-up of us. So there were big wet spots on my shirt.
I smothered my shoulders and chest in sunscreen. I'd gotten my shoulders and neck pretty well burned/tanned over the summer, but I decided to be safer this time. Though I completely forgot about my lips, so they got all burned. They feel all funky and hot. Even though I've currently got chapstick all over them. Hopefully it'll help.
I think we had a lot more fun than the people sitting at the tables, eating pizza (especially because we got to eat some pizza too!).
We're going to help with a couple scenes tomorrow, so I'll let ya know how that goes.
1000 POSTS
Wow, you guys! We just passed out 1000the post!
That's amazing!
And you know, some day I'm gonna clear out a bunch of the old, lame posts. So, it's conceivable that there may be a second 1000th post celebration! Hahah!
That's amazing!
And you know, some day I'm gonna clear out a bunch of the old, lame posts. So, it's conceivable that there may be a second 1000th post celebration! Hahah!
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Eevee Family
I was so bad today. I did very little of the stuff I was supposed to do.
But it's nice to have an occasional slack-off day.
And I finally finished making Flareon! So I have the whole set now.
My first Eevee team from my fanfic. Flarga the Flareon, Jarday the Jolteon, and Vaardesh the Vaporeon. They're all siblings. Jarday is the only female, however.
Maybe instead of reading homework I'll write the last part of mt graduate application...
Or at least for a little while longer.
But it's nice to have an occasional slack-off day.
And I finally finished making Flareon! So I have the whole set now.
My first Eevee team from my fanfic. Flarga the Flareon, Jarday the Jolteon, and Vaardesh the Vaporeon. They're all siblings. Jarday is the only female, however.
Maybe instead of reading homework I'll write the last part of mt graduate application...
Or at least for a little while longer.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Comic practice
Lots of posts today.
I was gonna wait and upload a whole bunch together, but I'll just put these up now.
So... I draw in class. Probably too much. Sometimes I draw comics. I've got several comic ideas. But I don't draw them fast enough, so they build up.
I don't know if any of these are funny. That's okay. They're just practice.
The first one I finished probably near the beginning of last semester. It's based off Heart Gold. When I was taking on Team Rocket's base, I got soooo many phone calls from Crystal's mom! It got really annoying after a while.
Here's some stupid thing I thought when I saw these FMA figure.
Two pages.
Here's the second one that I finished maybe last week.
Nothing specific going on here. I guess you could set it on my Magic-Earth. The little girl was Touched, so she got her own wings.
Three pages
So let me know what ya think. I'm working on another one right now, from Katani's story. Art is much better. And It's funnier too. I'll make the dialogue more readable also.
I was gonna wait and upload a whole bunch together, but I'll just put these up now.
So... I draw in class. Probably too much. Sometimes I draw comics. I've got several comic ideas. But I don't draw them fast enough, so they build up.
I don't know if any of these are funny. That's okay. They're just practice.
The first one I finished probably near the beginning of last semester. It's based off Heart Gold. When I was taking on Team Rocket's base, I got soooo many phone calls from Crystal's mom! It got really annoying after a while.
Here's some stupid thing I thought when I saw these FMA figure.
Two pages.
Here's the second one that I finished maybe last week.
Nothing specific going on here. I guess you could set it on my Magic-Earth. The little girl was Touched, so she got her own wings.
Three pages
So let me know what ya think. I'm working on another one right now, from Katani's story. Art is much better. And It's funnier too. I'll make the dialogue more readable also.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Twilight
Hmm. I debated for a while, and realized that I should post picture of these guys.
Because Twilight is a character of mine, from my Pokémon fanfic.
I finished him a couple weeks ago. He took a while, but I looooves him!
My baby Mewtwo. :3
I have a few more, but I'll post those once I finish the 3rd in the set.
Because Twilight is a character of mine, from my Pokémon fanfic.
I finished him a couple weeks ago. He took a while, but I looooves him!
My baby Mewtwo. :3
Mekki
Another late post. Heheh.
I went to a request stream by ShadeofShinon.
It was a pretty unusual stream, as you can tell from the bottom two pictures. But it was fun.
First of all:
"Awwww! Waka hugging Chii! Toooo cuuute!"
Second of all, recognize anyone familiar?
:3
She drew Mekki for me. ^-^
I went to a request stream by ShadeofShinon.
It was a pretty unusual stream, as you can tell from the bottom two pictures. But it was fun.
First of all:
"Awwww! Waka hugging Chii! Toooo cuuute!"
:3
She drew Mekki for me. ^-^
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Twelve... years? More?
Confused and a bit annoyed.
I looked online to find translations of the Twelve kingdoms books that weren't released in America. I found one site that hadn't finished translating the next book in the set (which I believe is about the girl queen that Shoukei had to serve). I'll have to look around to see if anyone else finished translating that one. There's also a book about Taiki as he's stuck in Japan. Apparently it was writting before the rest of Twilve Kingdoms. Sounds Interesting. I'll have to fish it out.
Earlier today, I finished reading a web translation of The Shore at Twilight, The Sky at Daybreak. It's about (minor spoilers) Risai traveling to Kei to beg Youko to help Tai. Because, as is shown in the anime, Tai has lost both Taiki and Gyousou. Youko convinces the kirin from several other kingdoms to travel to her world to search for Taiki.
So, first of all what confuses me. I don't like reading stuff on the computer, because it makes my eyes feel funny after a while. And yet I kept returning to read this book. Why? There wasn't much action in this book. It was almost entirely people talking and explaining what had happened. A lot of the parts that could have been made really exciting weren't even given a lot of detail. A lot of stuff was explained by the characters, as opposed to being directly experienced by the reader.
So... why? Even though I kept thinking of this throughout the book, I still couldn't get away from it.
Sure, there was that whole element about "where's Taiki?" And I'm sure that contributed.
But I think they could also get away with it because all of the characters had been well established already. So instead of listening to random people ramble on, I was following characters that I was already involved with.
And another reason. One of the things I really admire about Twelve Kingdoms is the world-building. The author obviously spent a lot of time figuring out how people in this strange place would live and behave. And she definitely spent a lot of time on the government. She also doesn't let characters get away with stuff. For example (spoilers for this book) Youko fills her court with a lot of the people we met in Skies of Dawn (the one with Shoukei and Suzu). Which makes perfect sense to me. These were people that she trusted, that helped her and had her back without even knowing who she was. They were people that she was willing to trust her life to. Yet these people were commoners. Half-beasts. Rebels, even. Imagine what the existing court thought of the empress elevating so many commoners to be her closest companions? Honestly, I didn't give that much thought. But some of Youko's court were pretty mad about that.
Also, Twelve Kingdoms takes things that seem overdone, and treats them with more depth. For example, a girl is spirited away to some strange land. She has no idea why. And - gasp - what do you know? She's really the queen!
OK... so ordinary girl... spirited away... secretly royalty. Those two things have been done to death. But these things present so many problems that most books skim over, or just don't address. For example, language barriers and disease. Well, there's a reason those aren't an issue, and it's clearly explained. And while at the end the queen is finally able to achieve her throne, her problems sure aren't over. For a girl with no experience, even of the basic rules of this strange new world, ruling a country ain't no picnic.
So, why have I been eating these books? Because the characters are so believable, and because the world-building is really helpful to me, as I build my own worlds.
This world is so... believable.
And now on to part two. Why I'm frustrated.
Because this book came out in 2001! She left us with (spoilers again) Taiki and Risai flying off to the broken-down and dangerous land of Tai, with each of them completely helpless! Risai is wanted, which will make it difficult for her to go anywhere civilized. Not to mention the place is swarming with demons. Risai only has one arm, so she can't even fight. Taiki's horn is still sealed, so he can't use any of his magic. And Sanshi and Gohran still can't appear. We don't even know if the two of them are continuing to go crazy.
And isn't Hou's kirin missing? And isn't Ryuu in the process of falling?
HOW CAN YOU MAKE US WAIT FOR OVER A DECADE to find out whether or not they find Gyousou? If Taiki is able to become a kirin again? If Gyousou is able to restore the court, of which most of the loyal ones have been killed?
What happens to Tai?
TELL MEEEEE!
TT^TT
Fact of the day: Burrowing owls don't burrow. They use burrows that were made by other animals, such as the California ground squirrel.
I looked online to find translations of the Twelve kingdoms books that weren't released in America. I found one site that hadn't finished translating the next book in the set (which I believe is about the girl queen that Shoukei had to serve). I'll have to look around to see if anyone else finished translating that one. There's also a book about Taiki as he's stuck in Japan. Apparently it was writting before the rest of Twilve Kingdoms. Sounds Interesting. I'll have to fish it out.
Earlier today, I finished reading a web translation of The Shore at Twilight, The Sky at Daybreak. It's about (minor spoilers) Risai traveling to Kei to beg Youko to help Tai. Because, as is shown in the anime, Tai has lost both Taiki and Gyousou. Youko convinces the kirin from several other kingdoms to travel to her world to search for Taiki.
So, first of all what confuses me. I don't like reading stuff on the computer, because it makes my eyes feel funny after a while. And yet I kept returning to read this book. Why? There wasn't much action in this book. It was almost entirely people talking and explaining what had happened. A lot of the parts that could have been made really exciting weren't even given a lot of detail. A lot of stuff was explained by the characters, as opposed to being directly experienced by the reader.
So... why? Even though I kept thinking of this throughout the book, I still couldn't get away from it.
Sure, there was that whole element about "where's Taiki?" And I'm sure that contributed.
But I think they could also get away with it because all of the characters had been well established already. So instead of listening to random people ramble on, I was following characters that I was already involved with.
And another reason. One of the things I really admire about Twelve Kingdoms is the world-building. The author obviously spent a lot of time figuring out how people in this strange place would live and behave. And she definitely spent a lot of time on the government. She also doesn't let characters get away with stuff. For example (spoilers for this book) Youko fills her court with a lot of the people we met in Skies of Dawn (the one with Shoukei and Suzu). Which makes perfect sense to me. These were people that she trusted, that helped her and had her back without even knowing who she was. They were people that she was willing to trust her life to. Yet these people were commoners. Half-beasts. Rebels, even. Imagine what the existing court thought of the empress elevating so many commoners to be her closest companions? Honestly, I didn't give that much thought. But some of Youko's court were pretty mad about that.
Also, Twelve Kingdoms takes things that seem overdone, and treats them with more depth. For example, a girl is spirited away to some strange land. She has no idea why. And - gasp - what do you know? She's really the queen!
OK... so ordinary girl... spirited away... secretly royalty. Those two things have been done to death. But these things present so many problems that most books skim over, or just don't address. For example, language barriers and disease. Well, there's a reason those aren't an issue, and it's clearly explained. And while at the end the queen is finally able to achieve her throne, her problems sure aren't over. For a girl with no experience, even of the basic rules of this strange new world, ruling a country ain't no picnic.
So, why have I been eating these books? Because the characters are so believable, and because the world-building is really helpful to me, as I build my own worlds.
This world is so... believable.
And now on to part two. Why I'm frustrated.
Because this book came out in 2001! She left us with (spoilers again) Taiki and Risai flying off to the broken-down and dangerous land of Tai, with each of them completely helpless! Risai is wanted, which will make it difficult for her to go anywhere civilized. Not to mention the place is swarming with demons. Risai only has one arm, so she can't even fight. Taiki's horn is still sealed, so he can't use any of his magic. And Sanshi and Gohran still can't appear. We don't even know if the two of them are continuing to go crazy.
And isn't Hou's kirin missing? And isn't Ryuu in the process of falling?
HOW CAN YOU MAKE US WAIT FOR OVER A DECADE to find out whether or not they find Gyousou? If Taiki is able to become a kirin again? If Gyousou is able to restore the court, of which most of the loyal ones have been killed?
What happens to Tai?
TELL MEEEEE!
TT^TT
Fact of the day: Burrowing owls don't burrow. They use burrows that were made by other animals, such as the California ground squirrel.
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Split!
I think it's been at least two years that it's been sitting on my desk. Thought it might actually be closer to three years, come to think about it...
And I finally filed it away in with my old story stuff, so I don't have to stare at it anymore!
Now to explain what the hell I'm talking about.
A few years ago, I finished writing the first draft of the story, Shadow Split. This was the second of Briena's stories.
The thing was, all of it was hand-written.
And it's pretty bad too. But all that writing definitely gave me a lot of good practice.
I started typing it a little while after I finished. I got a big hunk of it done... two years ago. And then I limped along for a few more chapters. Then for a solid year and a half, it just sat on my desk, beneath my computer, usually with a bunch of other papers sitting on top of it.
And last night I finally told myself, "Forget it! This story is broken and bad anyway. What's the point of typing out what I have?"
I'm sure that some day I'll re-write some of Briena's stuff. But when I do, I'll probably change everything. When the time comes, I may reference my first draft for a couple things. But it's just a waste of time trying to work on that weird, random thing that lives in the red binder.
If I do rewrite Briena's story, I'll probably trash pretty much everything in the first two books anyway. It's her later stories that are more interesting. It'll take a lot of time to rebuild her. Since I've already done so much with her, it might be hard since that bad version of her is still in my mind.
I'll have to think about that some. Have some deep conversations with Briena.
Except I still haven't finished my application for the graduate program... So I haven't worked enough on Katani's story and my fanfic. Katani is my top story priority for the time.
But I've been drawing a bunch of character's from Katani's story! And I've got a much better image of some of them.
Young Tyra and Katani you've seen. And you've seen the one with Kazuhi and the (still nameless) lieutenant. I finished lineart for Tri and Selven a few days ago. And less than an hour ago I finished the lineart for Dominic and Nam. Next I have to do Saris and Samara. And then Kazuhi and Chao (and then all of the Green Team).
And I've thought of a bunch of things to change for the first three chapters. Though I might not go back to them for a while, since I've spent so much time staring at them recently.
And I finally filed it away in with my old story stuff, so I don't have to stare at it anymore!
Now to explain what the hell I'm talking about.
A few years ago, I finished writing the first draft of the story, Shadow Split. This was the second of Briena's stories.
The thing was, all of it was hand-written.
And it's pretty bad too. But all that writing definitely gave me a lot of good practice.
I started typing it a little while after I finished. I got a big hunk of it done... two years ago. And then I limped along for a few more chapters. Then for a solid year and a half, it just sat on my desk, beneath my computer, usually with a bunch of other papers sitting on top of it.
And last night I finally told myself, "Forget it! This story is broken and bad anyway. What's the point of typing out what I have?"
I'm sure that some day I'll re-write some of Briena's stuff. But when I do, I'll probably change everything. When the time comes, I may reference my first draft for a couple things. But it's just a waste of time trying to work on that weird, random thing that lives in the red binder.
If I do rewrite Briena's story, I'll probably trash pretty much everything in the first two books anyway. It's her later stories that are more interesting. It'll take a lot of time to rebuild her. Since I've already done so much with her, it might be hard since that bad version of her is still in my mind.
I'll have to think about that some. Have some deep conversations with Briena.
Except I still haven't finished my application for the graduate program... So I haven't worked enough on Katani's story and my fanfic. Katani is my top story priority for the time.
But I've been drawing a bunch of character's from Katani's story! And I've got a much better image of some of them.
Young Tyra and Katani you've seen. And you've seen the one with Kazuhi and the (still nameless) lieutenant. I finished lineart for Tri and Selven a few days ago. And less than an hour ago I finished the lineart for Dominic and Nam. Next I have to do Saris and Samara. And then Kazuhi and Chao (and then all of the Green Team).
And I've thought of a bunch of things to change for the first three chapters. Though I might not go back to them for a while, since I've spent so much time staring at them recently.
Wednesday, September 12, 2012
You're too Big to Carry!
Another picture I finished.
Katani and Tyra.
Tyra's getting too big to carry, but she still likes Katani to carry her.
Katani and Tyra.
Tyra's getting too big to carry, but she still likes Katani to carry her.
Dumpster Diving
I just finished a surprisingly fascinating documentary called Dive.
What was it about? Dumpster Diving.
I hadn't thought much about it before. And although I doubt I'd ever actually do it, I think the people that do have a good idea.
So much stuff is thrown away. Perfectly good stuff.
Grocery stores throw away bags of food all the time. Food that is completely edible. They throw food away before the sell-by date, or they trash a whole bag of fruit because one piece of it is starting to go bad.
the amount of waste is pretty disgusting.
With thousands of thousands of people not knowing where their next meal is coming from, or starving, we have dumpsters full of food which is in perfect shape.
Although many of these stores donate food to food banks, still a lot of food ends up in the garbage.
Dumpster divers go into the dumpsters and salvage this food. And the guy said he'd never once gotten sick from it.
When you think about how many resources go into making food, and how much some people need food, it's disgusting how much is wasted.
It's not just markets. Households waste a lot of food too. And restaurants. People throw away leftovers. People eat out and don't bring home whatever food is leftover.
I've been raised to not waste food. So I'm always surprised when I see how much is thrown away at restaurants, or in leftovers.
Please, don't waste food.
Food is not a luxury that can be wasted. It's a necessity for life. And we shouldn't waste what we have. But we shouldn't waste anything. Our society is built on waste. And we can't keep that up. Our world has limits.
It takes 7 pounds of corn and 2,500 gallons of water to get one pound of beef.
40% of the world's grain goes to feeding meat animals.
19% of our energy goes into making food.
We waste about 96 BILLION POUNDS of food every year, which is worth $136 billion.
What was it about? Dumpster Diving.
I hadn't thought much about it before. And although I doubt I'd ever actually do it, I think the people that do have a good idea.
So much stuff is thrown away. Perfectly good stuff.
Grocery stores throw away bags of food all the time. Food that is completely edible. They throw food away before the sell-by date, or they trash a whole bag of fruit because one piece of it is starting to go bad.
the amount of waste is pretty disgusting.
With thousands of thousands of people not knowing where their next meal is coming from, or starving, we have dumpsters full of food which is in perfect shape.
Although many of these stores donate food to food banks, still a lot of food ends up in the garbage.
Dumpster divers go into the dumpsters and salvage this food. And the guy said he'd never once gotten sick from it.
When you think about how many resources go into making food, and how much some people need food, it's disgusting how much is wasted.
It's not just markets. Households waste a lot of food too. And restaurants. People throw away leftovers. People eat out and don't bring home whatever food is leftover.
I've been raised to not waste food. So I'm always surprised when I see how much is thrown away at restaurants, or in leftovers.
Please, don't waste food.
Food is not a luxury that can be wasted. It's a necessity for life. And we shouldn't waste what we have. But we shouldn't waste anything. Our society is built on waste. And we can't keep that up. Our world has limits.
It takes 7 pounds of corn and 2,500 gallons of water to get one pound of beef.
40% of the world's grain goes to feeding meat animals.
19% of our energy goes into making food.
We waste about 96 BILLION POUNDS of food every year, which is worth $136 billion.
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
565 Gigatons
I just read this article for one of my classes.
It's called "Global Warming's Terrifying New Math," by McKibben. If you can find it, I recommend you read it.
There was one rather terrifying thing he talked about in it.
Basically, that atmosphere can only take about 565 more gigatons of carbon before it starts going into irreversible feedback loops that mess up climate.
The problem is that oil companies have almost five times that much that they are able to extract and sell.
These companies have a lot of power.
And that oil is worth a helluva lot of money.
How do you stop them from selling over 2,000 gigatons worth of carbon?
Fact of the day: It takes 75 gallons of oil to raise a steer to slaughter.
It's called "Global Warming's Terrifying New Math," by McKibben. If you can find it, I recommend you read it.
There was one rather terrifying thing he talked about in it.
Basically, that atmosphere can only take about 565 more gigatons of carbon before it starts going into irreversible feedback loops that mess up climate.
The problem is that oil companies have almost five times that much that they are able to extract and sell.
These companies have a lot of power.
And that oil is worth a helluva lot of money.
How do you stop them from selling over 2,000 gigatons worth of carbon?
Fact of the day: It takes 75 gallons of oil to raise a steer to slaughter.
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Don't Be Too Good
Hey, it's been a while, but I'm returning to the book Poemcrazy!
Don't always be good.
That doesn't mean that you have to be bad. All it means is that you can be not-good sometimes. If you always try to do the right thing, to please everyone, you could suffocate. Look at Yoko from the Twelve Kingdoms.
So, maybe when no one's around, go tearing wildly through a field, flapping your arms and howling. Or get into a wrestling match with your dog or cat (or mom). Do something that would make those refined, ladies wearing frilly collars gasp in horror.
Now tying that into stories! What does your character do to be "not good" when no one else is around?
Fact of the day: Lactose intolerant - when a person lacks the enzyme lactase, which is necessary for digesting milk and milk products. Though it may be hard to believe in today's society, people are naturally lactose intolerant. Which makes sense. Animals don't need to drink milk once they're old enough to eat solid food. If a human infant continues to drink milk as he/she grows, he/she is less likely to be lactose intolerant.
Don't always be good.
That doesn't mean that you have to be bad. All it means is that you can be not-good sometimes. If you always try to do the right thing, to please everyone, you could suffocate. Look at Yoko from the Twelve Kingdoms.
So, maybe when no one's around, go tearing wildly through a field, flapping your arms and howling. Or get into a wrestling match with your dog or cat (or mom). Do something that would make those refined, ladies wearing frilly collars gasp in horror.
Now tying that into stories! What does your character do to be "not good" when no one else is around?
Fact of the day: Lactose intolerant - when a person lacks the enzyme lactase, which is necessary for digesting milk and milk products. Though it may be hard to believe in today's society, people are naturally lactose intolerant. Which makes sense. Animals don't need to drink milk once they're old enough to eat solid food. If a human infant continues to drink milk as he/she grows, he/she is less likely to be lactose intolerant.
Monday, September 3, 2012
People That Aren't People
As I have said before on the blog, I love animal-people. Either shape-shifters, or people with animal traits (ears/tail/ex), or animals that take on human shapes.
This can be expanded to include plant people too. Like Cheza, from Wolf's Rain. And today, Mom and I went to see The Odd Life of Timothy Green in theaters. Timothy is adorable. And I'm not sure if I think that mainly because he's a plant person. But there's this one part where he's practicing soccer, and he keeps tripping over the ball. He stands up and grins. And the coach demands, "Why are you smiling?" And Timothy says, "I can only get better!"
:3
But my love of animal/plant people can be expanded even further in some cases. People that aren't people. The best example I can think of right now is FMA. The homunculus. In this case, Wrath. I don't mean the Wrath from the books or from Brotherhood. I mean the Wrath from the first anime. I modeled Hari (the boy in my Pokémon fanfic) after him. I liked wrath before he got brainwashed by Envy.
And then Greed too. Both Greeds, I guess.
Or Kurama and Hiei, from Yuyu Hakusho. I like to count Kurama as a fox, because then I can call him an animal person. But Hiei doesn't fall into that category. So he's a non-human human.
This can be expanded to include plant people too. Like Cheza, from Wolf's Rain. And today, Mom and I went to see The Odd Life of Timothy Green in theaters. Timothy is adorable. And I'm not sure if I think that mainly because he's a plant person. But there's this one part where he's practicing soccer, and he keeps tripping over the ball. He stands up and grins. And the coach demands, "Why are you smiling?" And Timothy says, "I can only get better!"
:3
But my love of animal/plant people can be expanded even further in some cases. People that aren't people. The best example I can think of right now is FMA. The homunculus. In this case, Wrath. I don't mean the Wrath from the books or from Brotherhood. I mean the Wrath from the first anime. I modeled Hari (the boy in my Pokémon fanfic) after him. I liked wrath before he got brainwashed by Envy.
And then Greed too. Both Greeds, I guess.
Or Kurama and Hiei, from Yuyu Hakusho. I like to count Kurama as a fox, because then I can call him an animal person. But Hiei doesn't fall into that category. So he's a non-human human.
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Emperor Kazuhi and the Lieutenant
Another picture of some of my characters. This time Emperor Kazuhi, the leader of Reyu. One of the characters in Katani's story.
The woman doesn't have a name yet. But she's a lieutenant (maybe) in the army and she eventually ends up marrying Kazuhi. Throughout the first draft the story, I had absolutely no plans for Kazuhi getting married. Mainly because I wanted to be lazy and have it happen mysteriously after the story ended.
Which is a terrible thing to do. And it must be fixed! So, I started trying to figure out who he'd marry. Some people might consider 38 a bit old to marry, especially for an emperor, but too bad! He had to find the right person. The wedding will probably still happen after the book, but I'll be including some of this woman in the book.
In the picture, she's saying that she's got Kazuhi on a short leash. Since at the beginning of the story, Kazuhi's dragon partner, Chao (must draw him) teases that everyone wants Kazuhi on a short leash.
I made Mom and Dad pose for this picture. Heheh.
Fact of the Day: A while ago in China, if anyone besides the emperor wore a five-toed dragon on their clothes, they would be put to death.
The woman doesn't have a name yet. But she's a lieutenant (maybe) in the army and she eventually ends up marrying Kazuhi. Throughout the first draft the story, I had absolutely no plans for Kazuhi getting married. Mainly because I wanted to be lazy and have it happen mysteriously after the story ended.
Which is a terrible thing to do. And it must be fixed! So, I started trying to figure out who he'd marry. Some people might consider 38 a bit old to marry, especially for an emperor, but too bad! He had to find the right person. The wedding will probably still happen after the book, but I'll be including some of this woman in the book.
I made Mom and Dad pose for this picture. Heheh.
Fact of the Day: A while ago in China, if anyone besides the emperor wore a five-toed dragon on their clothes, they would be put to death.
Jade
I don't draw enough of my characters. I really need to do concept arts for a bunch of them.
Here's one I drew a while ago, and finally got around to coloring it.
This is Princess Jade, one of the princesses of Draykia, the western-most country in Soreina.
This is probably a picture of her when she's living away from the palace.
Three or four people told me that she was leaning too far backwards. So, I used the amazing rotation feature on photoshop! Now she doesn't look like she's tilting backwards.
My scanner always screws up the colors...
I need to fix Jade's story. Sigh. Gotta focus on Katani's story first. And my application.
Here's one I drew a while ago, and finally got around to coloring it.
This is Princess Jade, one of the princesses of Draykia, the western-most country in Soreina.
This is probably a picture of her when she's living away from the palace.
Three or four people told me that she was leaning too far backwards. So, I used the amazing rotation feature on photoshop! Now she doesn't look like she's tilting backwards.
My scanner always screws up the colors...
I need to fix Jade's story. Sigh. Gotta focus on Katani's story first. And my application.
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
A Hand to an Alien
So, working on a giant pile of reading homework, and realize that the paper I have due tomorrow is longer than I thought, and even requires references. So, what do I do? Procrastinate and write a blog post!
I just thought of this. In a middle school English class, the teacher gave us a writing assignment. Thinking back to it, it would be fun to do now that we're all better writers than we were in middle school.
So, here goes.
You're writing a letter to an alien. Someone who has no idea what a human looks like.
How would you describe your hand to them?
I just thought of this. In a middle school English class, the teacher gave us a writing assignment. Thinking back to it, it would be fun to do now that we're all better writers than we were in middle school.
So, here goes.
You're writing a letter to an alien. Someone who has no idea what a human looks like.
How would you describe your hand to them?
Saturday, August 25, 2012
References for Writers
Here is a list of useful sites for writers. Books too. There might be a bit of overlap with my "books to read/ stuff to watch" list.
Some of the books are excellent. Some of the books are the only ones I have on the topic, and there may well be better ones that I don't know of.
Some of the books are excellent. Some of the books are the only ones I have on the topic, and there may well be better ones that I don't know of.
And some of these I read a very long time ago. They may be outdated, or I've realized they're not as good references as I once thought. So use your best judgement! And I'll work on keeping it updated.
Writing/World building
A list of Limyaael's rants on writing fantasy
Fantasy worldbuilding questions
A fantasy worldbuilder (Just scroll down and click to download the PDF)
Elements of Setting
Some articles about different aspects of writing.
Query Letters that Get Manuscript Requests
How to Write a (fiction) Book Proposal
Start Here: How to Get Your Book Published
Writing a Novel Synopsis
How to Find a Literary Agent for Your Book
Query Shark - all about writing a query letter.
Publisher's Marketplace
How to Ensure 75% of Agents Will Request Your Material
-
A blog called the Bookshelf Muse. Now moved to Writers Helping Writers.
Here's some posts from The Bookshelf Muse:
-A list of emotions
-Theme
-Describing appearance
-Critiques
-Tension
-Taglines
-Marketing 1
-Marketing 2
-Character reactions
~
A website called Springhole, with writing and role-playing tips. Here's a few of their posts I liked:
~Problems with hair and clothes
~Royal people
~Masculine
~Gender
~Random name generators
~Names
~
Five Traps and Tips for Character Development
A website called Writer's Corner plus a couple helpful articles I found on it: character voice and outlining a story
Developing fantasy languages
And more fantasy language stuff, looking at Tolkein's work
Character interview questions I both found and wrote
Information on names.
The Artist's Way, by Cameron
The Pocket Muse: Ideas and Inspiration for Writing, by Wood
The Writer's Idea Book: How to Develop Ideas for Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry, and Screenplays, by Heffron
Showing and Telling: Learn how to Show and when to Tell for Powerful and Balanced Writing, by Alberts
The Writer's guide to psychology, by Kaufman
The Emotion Thesaurus, by Ackerman and Puglisi
The Positive Trait Thesaurus and the Negative Trait Thesaurus, both by Ackerman and Puglisi
The Essential Guide for new Writers, by Storey.
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, by Browne and King
The Idiot's Guide to Getting Published, by Bykofsky and Sander
The Shortest Distance Between You and a Published Book, by Susan Page
Successful critiques
Poetry
Poemcrazy, by Wooldridge
The Discovery of Poetry, by Mayes
Kokinshu (Japanese poetry)
Science Fiction
The Writer's Guide to Creating a Science Fiction Universe, by George Ochoa and Jeffrey Osier
Writing Science Fiction and Fantasy: 20 Dynamic Essays by Today's top Professionals (there's not really any fantasy stuff in this book - it's all sci fi)
Space Travel: A Writer's Guide to the science of interplanetary and interstellar travel, by Bova and Lewis
Aliens and Alien Societies: A Writer's Guide to Creating Extraterrestrial Life-forms, by Bova and Schmidt
World-Building: A writer's guide to constructing star systems and life-supporting planets, by Gillett
Wilhelm and Mathison, Avatar: An Activist Survival Guide
The Wildlife of Star Wars
Fantasy
The Writer's Complete Fantasy Reference, by Brooks and others.
Fantasy Encyclopedia, by Judy Allen. There's also a book about strange things in the world, by the same author. It's called Unexplained. Some interesting ideas to spark stories.
The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures, by Matthews
Japandemonium Illustrated: The Yokai Encyclopedias of Toriyama Sekien
The Book of Yokai: Mysterious creatures of Japanese folklore, by Foster
Flights of Fancy: Birds in myth, legend, and superstition, by Tate
An article about the different genres of fantasy
Dracopedia, by O'Connor
Dragonology: The Complete book of dragons. They have a whole series of fun books, like about Egypt, pirates, and fairies
The Unicorn, by Hatahway
Encyclopedia of Gods: Over 2,500 Deities of the world. By Jordan
A Practical Guide to Dragons
O'Connor, Dracopedia The Great Dragons
Culture, History, and Places
Disclaimer: Some of these sources are not very respectful to the cultures they discuss - the reason they're listed here is because they're views into the past of some countries, before they were more altered by outside forces.
A timeline of inventions, so you know what to include in your story
A World History Encyclopedia
Two in the Far North, by Murie
There is a company called "The Great Courses" that has DVD sets of many different topics. They're like a semester of classes packed into DVDs.
Festivals Together: A Guide to Multi-cultural Celebration, by Fitzjohn, Weston, and Large
Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Diamond
A book series called The Culture and Customs of Asia.
A book series called Culture Smart
Japan:
A website about Japanese clothing.
Simon and Schuster's guide to Bonsai
Japanese Homes and their Surroundings, by Morse
Palaces of Kyoto, by Ishikawa
Flower Arrangement Art of Japan, by Wood
The Art of the Japanese Garden, by Young
Shogun: The Shogun Age Exhibition, from the Tokugawa Art Museum
Journey to the Heart of Aikido, by Holiday
Aikido: Its Heart and Appearance, by Saito
The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture, by Benedict
The Japanese Arts and Self-Cultivation, by Carter
Becoming Bamboo, by Carter
Shinto: Japan's Spiritual Roots, by Picken
The Book of Tea, by Okakura
Wabi-Sabi: For artists, designers, poets, and philosophers, by Koren
Zen in Japanese Culture, by Suzuki
Ki in Daily Life, by Tohei
Japanese Swordsmanship: Technique and Practice, by Warner and Draeger
The Craft of the Japanese Sword, byYoshihara
Bushido: the soul of Japan, by Nitobe
Hiroshima, Hersey. Stories from survivors of the nuclear bomb that hit Hiroshima
Understanding Japan: A Cultural History (Great Courses series)
The Japanese Woman: Traditional Image and Changing Reality, by Iwao
Modern Japan Through its Weddings, by Edwards
With Respect to the Japanese: Going to Work in Japan, by Condon and Masumoto
Japandemonium Illustrated: The Yokai Encyclopedias of Toriyama Sekien
The Book of Yokai: Mysterious creatures of Japanese folklore, by Foster
Japanese Yokai and other supernatural beings, by Marks
China:
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China, by Chang
The Great Gardens of China, by Xiaofeng
China, by Bailey, Knapp, Neville-Hadley, Roberts, and Steinhardt
Chinese Ornament, L'Aventurine
Terra-cotta Warriors and Horses at the Tomb of Qin Shi Huang
China's Golden Age: Everyday Life in the Tang Dynasty, Benn
Daily Life in the Forbidden City, by Yi, Shuqing, and Yanzhen
Dress in Hong Kong, by Szeto
5,000 years of Chinese Costume, by Chunming
Ruling from the Dragon Throne: Costume of the Qing Dynasty, by Vollmer
China's Sacred Sites, by Shunxun and Foit-Albert
Huangshan Mountains, World Cultural and Natural Heritage
Chinese Paintings, from the China Council for Promotion of International Trade
Chinese Painting, by Chow
Folk Customs of China, Huanxing
Jade, Palmer
Book of Songs (Chinese Poetry)
Tibet:
Tibet: The Secret Continent, by Peissel
My Tibet, by Rowell
Tibet: A Handbook, by Hoffmann
Tibet: A Guide to the Land of Fascination, by Majupuria
A Portrait of Lost Tibet, by Tung
The People of Tibet, by Bell
Nomads of Western Tibet: The Survival of a Way of Life, by Goldstein and Beall
Palace on the World's Rooftop: The Potala Palace of Tibet
Folk Cultures of Tibet, by Chophel
Tibet is my Country, by Norbu and Harrer
Seven Years in Tibet, by Harrer
India:
India Unveiled, by Arnett
A World of Food: India, by Ganeri
Being Different, by Malhotra
My India, by Corbett
Sacred Horses: The memoirs of a Turkmen cowboy (about Turkmenistan)
Saudi Notes: Two years in the kingdom, by Neale
Europe:
The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Royal Britain, by Phillips
Medieval Combat: A fifteenth-century manual of swordfighting and close-quarter combat, by Talhoffer
Renaissance Swordsmanship: The illustrated use of rapiers and cut-and-thrust swords, by Clements
The Complete Renaissance Swordsman: A guide to the use of all manner of weapons, by Manciolinos
Medieval Swordsmanship: Illustrated methods and techniques, by Clements
The Medieval Longsword, by Windsor
The Beginner's Guide to the Longsword: European martial arts weaponry techniques, by Fick
Venetian Rapier: The school, or salle, by Giganti
The Art of Falconry, by Frederick II of Hohenstaufen
The High Middle Ages: 1200-1550, by Rowley
The Wars of the Roses, by Hallam
The Age of Plantagenet and Valois, by Fowler
The Wise King: A Christian Prince, Muslim Spain, and the Birth of the Renaissance, by Doubleday
Saint Fernando III, by Fitzhenry
Daily Life depicted in the Cantigas de Santa Maria, by Keller and Cash
Vatican City, by Roncalli
Scythian Gold, by Reeder
Lovely is the Lee, Gibbings (Ireland)
Scotland: A concise history, by Maclean
Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes, by Hamilton (Greek Mythology)
Heroes, Monsters, and Other Worlds from Russian Mythology, by Warner
Searching for Bobby Fischer, Waitzkin (Communist Russia)
North America - the traditional:
Handbook of North American Indians, by Sturtevant (A huge multi-volume set)
Stars of the First People: Native American star myths and constellations, by Miller
North American Indian Arts, by Whiteford
Great Speeches by Native Americans, by Blaisdell
American Indian Healing Arts: Herbs, rituals, and remedies for every season of live, by Kavasch and Baar
American Indian Medicine, by Vogel
American Indian Dances: Steps, rhythms, costumes, and interpretation, by Squires and McLean
Arts and Crafts of the Native American Tribes, by Johnson and Yenne
Good Medicine: Traditional dress issue, by Hungry Wolf
19th Century Plains Indian Dresses, by Jennys
The Indian Tipi: Its history, construction, and use, by Laubin
Tipis, Tepees, Teepees: History and design of the cloth Tipi, by Holley
Focus on Feathers: A Complete Guide to American Indian Feather Craft, by Forsythe
Pow-Wow: Dancers and Craftworker's Handbook, by Hungry Wolf
Native American Weapons, by Taylor
Making Indian Bows and Arrows... the old ways, by Spotted Eagle
American Indian Archery, by Laubin
Native American Survival Skills, by Hunt
Primitive Wilderness Living and Survival Skills: Naked into the wilderness , by McPherson
Native American Games and stories, by Bruchac and Bruchac
Tending the Wild: Native American Knowledge and Management of California's Natural Resources, by Anderson
The World We Used to Live In, by Deloria
The Ways of my Grandmothers, by Hungry Wolf (about the Blackfoot people)
The Horse in Blackfoot Indian Culture, by Ewers
Lone Bull's Horse Raid, by Goble
All Our Relatives, by Goble
Black Elk Speaks, by Neihardt and Black Elk (About the Sioux)
The Sacred Pipe: Black Elk's account of the seven rites of the Ogalala Sioux, by Brown
Apaches: A history and culture portrait, by Haley
Arts, Cultures, and Lives of the Plains Indian People: Memory and Vision, by Hansen
The Plains Indian Warbonnet: Its story and construction, by Hardin
The Arapaho, by Kroeber
The Cheyenne Indians: Their history and lifeways, by Grinnell
The Lost Universe: Pawnee life and culture, by Weltfish
The Comanches: Lords of the South Plains, by Wallace and Hoebel
The Original People: The ancient culture and wisdom of the Lenni-Lenape People, by Quiet Thunder and Vizzi
A Lenape-English Dictionary, by Brinton and Anthony
Florida's First People: 12,000 years of human history, by Brown
Let me be Free: The Nez Perce Tragedy, by Lavender
Book of the Hopi: the first revelation of the Hopi's historical and religious world-view of life, by Waters
Sharing the Skies: Navajo Astronomy, by Maryboy and Begay
Iroquois: People of the longhouse, by Johnson
Ojibway Ceremonies, by Johnston
Lakota Belief and Ritual, by Walker
Indian Clothing of the Great Lakes, by Hartman
Beginning Cherokee, by Holmes and Smith
Anasazi: Ancient People of the Rock, by Pike
Handbook of the Indians of California, by Kroeber
The Ohlone Way: Indian Life in the San Francisco - Monterey Bay Area, by Margolin
California Indians and their Environment, by Lightfoot and Parrish
We Are the Land: A History of Native California, by Akins and Bauer Jr.
The California Indians, by Heizer and Whipple
The First Spanish Entry into San Francisco Bay: 1775, by Vicente Maria
Myths and Legends of California and the Old Southwest, by Judson
The Northern Shoshone, by Lowie
Mountain Maidu People of Tasmam Kojom, by Benner-Ogle
The Paiute, by Franklin and Bunte
Looking at Indian Art of the Northwest Coast, by Stewart
Indian Artifacts of the Northwest Coast, by Stewart
Indian Fishing: Early methods on the Northwest Coast, by Stewart
Indians of the Northwest Coast, by Goddard
Kumeyaay Ethnobotany: Shared heritage of the Californias, by Wilken-Robertson
The Early Ethnography of the Kumeyaay, by Shackley
Kwakiutl Ethnography, by Boas
Kwakiutl Art, by Hawthorn
The Quinault Indians and Adze, Canoe, and House Types of the Northwest Coast, by Olson
Haida Monumental Art: Villages of the Queen Charlotte Islands, by MacDonald
Cedar: Tree of life to the Northwest Coast Indians, by Stewart
The Chinook Indians: Traders of the Lower Columbia River, by Ruby and Brown
Chinookan Peoples of the Lower Columbia, by Boyd, Ames, and Johnson
Chinook Resilience: Heritage and cultural revitalization on the lower Columbia River, by Daehnke
The Shasta Indians of California and their Neighbors, by Renfro
Shasta Indian Tales, by Holsinger
The Salish People and the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Salish Weaving, by Gustafson
Tsimshian Culture: A light through the Ages, by Miller
The Tsimshian Indians and their Arts, by Garfield and Wingert
The Wolf and the Raven: Totem poles of southeastern Alaska, by Garfield and Forrest
Trail to Heaven: Knowledge and Narrative in a northern native community, by Ridington (Dunne-za)
The Makah Indians: A study of an Indian tribe in modern American society, by Colson
The Sea is my Country: the maritime world of the Makahs, an indigenous borderlands people, by Reid
Crossroads of the Continents, by Fitzhugh and Crowell
Hunters of the Northern Forest: Designs for survival among the Alaskan Kutchin, by Nelson
Make Prayers to the Raven: A Kokuyan view of the northern forest, by Nelson
North America - the modern:
San Francisco: A Natural History, by Gaar and Miller
San Francisco: Building the Dream City, by Alexander and Heig
1500 California Place Names: Their origin and meaning, by Bright
The Wright Brothers, by McCullough
The Klondike Fever, by Berton
Clabbered Dirt, Sweet Grass, by Paulsen
The American Civil War - The Great Courses DVD series
South America:
Lost City of the Incas, by Bingham
The Conquest of the Incas, Hemming
Sonqoykipi Apakuway: Welcome to the land of the Inkas, by Casas
The Enchanted Amazon Rainforest: Stories from a vanishing world, by Smith
Through Amazonian Eyes, : The human ecology of Amazonian populations, by Moran
The Wanano Indians of the Brazilian Amazon, by Chernela
Medicine Men: Their plants and rituals in the Colombian Amazonia, by Schultes and Raffauf
Africa:
African Warriors, by Magor (Samburu people)
The Samburu, by Spencer
The Samburu, by Spencer
An Introduction to Ancient Egypt, by James
Life in Ancient Egypt, by Erman
Life in Ancient Egypt, by Erman
Egyptian Life, by Stead
Everyday Life in Egypt in the days of Ramesses the Great, by Montet
See Inside an Egyptian Town, by Unstead
Dwellers of the Nile, by Budge
Ancient Egyptian Jewelry, by Andrews
Art and Craft
This is an online stopwatch to keep track of how long you work and what you're earning, for all you artists.
The Woodworkers, and The Blacksmith. These two books by Kalman talk about how things were done in the colonial days. They're aimed at kids, but they're very informative with good pictures.
Art Nouveau Jewelry, by Becker
Clocks and Watches: British Museum, by Tait
How California Adobes were Built in the 1830's, by Delgado and Wade
Obata's Yosemite, Driesbach and Landauer
Antoni Gaudi, by Permanyer
Focus on Feathers: A complete guide to American Indian feather craft, by Forsythe
Faux Surfaces in Polymer Clay: 30 techniques and projects that imitate precious, stones, metals, wood, and more, by Dean
The Mosaic Idea Book, by Wates
The Complete Guide to Home Mosaics
Macramé: The craft of creative knotting for your home, by Zedenius
Fun with Chinese Knotting, by Chen
Origami Bonsai: Create beautiful botanical sculptures from paper, by Coleman
Contemporary Japanese Prints, by Smith
Traditional Indian Crafts, by Smith
Natural Dyes and Home Dyeing, by Adrosko
The Art of Calligraphy, by Harris
The Art of Basketry, by Lonning
Wheat Weaving and Straw Art, by Beiler
Creative Native American Beading, by Geary
Finger weaving: Indian braiding, by Turner
A Bag Worth a Pony: The Art of the Ojibwe Bandolier Bag, by Anderson
Gourd Art Basics: The complete guide to cleaning, preparation, and repair, by Mohr
How to make Drums, Tomtoms, and Rattles, by Mason
Buckskin: The ancient art of braintanning, by Edholm and Wilder
The Complete Book of Tanning Skins and Furs, by Churchill
Deerskins into Buckskins: How to tan with natural materials, by Richards
Blue Mountain Buckskin: A working manual, by Riggs
The Razor Edge Book of Sharpening, by Juranitch
Figure Drawing for All It's Worth, by Loomis
Avatar The Last Airbender: The Art of the Animated Series
Studio Ghibli Art Books
McCarthy, Hayao Miyazaki Master of Japanese Animation
Disney Animation: The Illusion of Life, by Thomas and Johnston
The Legend of Zelda Hyrule Historia
Okami Official Complete Works
The Art of Fullmetal Alchemist (series)
Fullmetal Alchemist Profiles
The Art of Amy Brown
Shaman: The paintings of Susan Seddon Boulet
Peffer, Dragonart
Peffer, Dragonart Evolution
Wissman and Laichas, Dragonworld
Pui-Mun Law, Dreamscapes Magical Menagerie
Aymer, Dragon Art: Inspiration and Technique in Fantasy Art
Hamm, Drawing the Head and Figure
Peck, Atlas of Human Anatomy for the Artist
Cyclopedia Anatomicae, By Feher
Leslie, Nature Drawing: A Tool for Learning
Weatherly, The Weatherly Guide to Drawing Animals
The Artist's Guide to Animal Anatomy: An Illustrated reference to drawing animals
Hamm, How to draw Animals
Hultgren, The Art of Animal Drawing
Foster. They have a series of large art books, which have great info and pictures in them.
Wilwerding, Cats in Action
Poole, Simple Landscape Painting
Kowalski, Discover the Joy of Painting with Bob Ross
Aylward, Ships and How to draw them
Health
First Aid/CPR/AED Participant's Manual, by the American Red Cross
The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health, by Montgomery and Bikle
Change your Brain, Change your Body, by Amen
Living in a Mindful Universe, by Alexander
The Power of Now, by Tolle
Level Up Your Life, by Kamb
Nerdfitness
-Top Posts
-But I don't have time...
-Interval Training
-Beginner workout
-Running
-Barefoot running
-Tabata training
-Parkour
-Biking
-Yoga
-Squats
-Pull ups
-Pushups
-Helping Others
-Working with a friend
-Breakfast
-Protein
-Meals
-Intermittent Fasting
-Paleo diet
-Small steps
-Lose weight
-
(And some books for designing magical systems)
Zapped, by Gittleman. Electric and internet signals can impact your health Check it out.
The Comprehensive guide to Self-Defense, by Chen. This was written by a friend of my Dad's. I took his self-defense class. This book describes things well.
Basic Rockcraft, by Robbins
The Astrology of the Seers: A Guide to Vedic (Hindu) Astrology, by Frawley
How to Meditate, by Novak.
Hands of Light, by Brennan. This has a lot of stuff about auras, which is good reference if you want to write about healing in a magic society, ex. I got a lot of ideas from it.
Essential Reiki: A Complete Guide to an Ancient Healing Art, by Stein. More great reference if you want to make magical healing. As are the following.
The Original Reiki Handbook of Dr. Mikao Usui, by Usui
Handbook of Vastu, by Babu
Feng Shui: The Chinese Art of Placement, Rossbach
Zapped, by Gittleman. Electric and internet signals can impact your health Check it out.
The Comprehensive guide to Self-Defense, by Chen. This was written by a friend of my Dad's. I took his self-defense class. This book describes things well.
Basic Rockcraft, by Robbins
The Astrology of the Seers: A Guide to Vedic (Hindu) Astrology, by Frawley
How to Meditate, by Novak.
Hands of Light, by Brennan. This has a lot of stuff about auras, which is good reference if you want to write about healing in a magic society, ex. I got a lot of ideas from it.
Essential Reiki: A Complete Guide to an Ancient Healing Art, by Stein. More great reference if you want to make magical healing. As are the following.
The Original Reiki Handbook of Dr. Mikao Usui, by Usui
Handbook of Vastu, by Babu
Feng Shui: The Chinese Art of Placement, Rossbach
Chinese System of Food Cure: Prevention and remedies, by Lu
The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine, Murray and Pizzorno
The Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine, Murray and Pizzorno
Food
Food Rules, by Pollan
Eating to Extinction: The world's rarest foods and why we need to save them, by Saladino
The Zero-Waste Chef, by BonneauThe Beginner's Guide to Dehydrating Food, by Marrone
The New Wildcrafted Cuisine, by Baudar
Forage, Harvest, Feast: A wild-inspired cuisine, by Viljoen
The Unofficial Studio Ghibli Cookbook, by Yun
Thought
Effective Communication Skills - series from The Great Courses
The Writer's guide to psychology, by Kaufman
An article about dreams
Environment
Eaarth: Making a life on a tough new planet, by McKibben
Reef, by Scubazoo
Planet Earth, by Fothergill
Tom Brown's Field Guide: Living with the Earth
Tom Brown's Field Guide:Wilderness Survival
The Amateur Naturalist, by Durrell
How to stay alive in the woods, by Angier.
A Handbook for Wilderness Survival, by Harris
Books by Joseph Cornell. He deals a lot with environmental education. Some of his books are Sharing with Nature with Children, and The Sky and Earth Touched Me.
The Weather, by Lynch.
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Weather, by Ludlum
A Natural History of California, By Schoenherr
Farming with Native Beneficial Insects, by the Xerces Society
Atlas of the Biodiversity of California. By the State of California Department of Fish and Game
Cosmos, by Arditi and Lachieze-Rey. A book with pictures of outer space.
Animals
A list I made of a bunch of different animals.
Zoobooks. A series of kid books on many kinds of animals. They have good basic information.
Tom Brown's Field Guide: Nature Observation and Tracking
Tom Brown's Field Guide to the Forgotten Wilderness
A Key to the Skulls of North American Mammals, by Glass
Animal Skulls: A Guide to North American Species, by Elbroch
Mammal Tracks and Sign: A Guide to North American Species, by Elbroch
Scats and Tracks of the Southeast, by Halfpenny and Bruchac
Bird Tracks and Sign: A guide to North American species, by Elbroch and Marks
Peterson Field Guide to Animal Tracks, by Murie and Elbroch
The Tracker's Field Guide, by Lowery
Animal Tracking Basics, by Young and Morgan
Stories in Tracks and Sign, by Gibbons
The Barron's pet owner's manuals
The New Complete Dog Book, by the American Kennel Club
The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Dog Breeds and Dog Care. By Larkin and Stockman.
Once a Wolf: How wildlife biologists fought to bring back the gray wolf, by Swinburne
Innocent Killers: A fascinating journey through the worlds of the hyena, the jackal, and the wild dog, by Van Lawick-Goodall
Small Wild Cats: The Animal Answer Guide, by Sanderson and Watson
The Wolverine Way, by Chadwick
In the Shadow of Man, by Goodall
Gorillas in the Mist, by Fossey
Some helpful information about horses.
Breeding and Training a Horse or Pony, by Sutcliffe
A Horse of Your Own: The Rider-Owner's Complete Guide, by Stoneridge
Communicating with Cues: The Rider's Guide to Training and Problem solving, by Lyons.
Horse, Follow Closely: Native American Horsemanship, by Pony Boy
Such is the Real Nature of Horses, by Vavra
Natural Horsemanship, by Parelli
Mustangs: Wild Horses of the West, by Hubert and Klein
The Encyclopedia of Horses and Ponies, Pickeral
Encyclopedia of the Horse, Edwards
Horses and Horsemanship Through the Ages, by Gianoli
Getting in T-Touch: Understand and Influence Your Horse's Personality.
The Perfect Horse: The Daring US mission to rescue the priceless stallions kidnapped by the Nazis, by Letts
Neotropical Rainforest Mammals: A field guide, by Emmons
Penguins: Natural History and Conservation, by Borboroglu and Boersma
Peterson field guide to birds
Falconry: Art and practice, by Ford
North American Falconry and Hunting Hawks, by Beebe and Webster
The Birder's Handbook, by Wheye
The Shorebird Guide, by O'Brien, Crossley, and Karlson
Field Guide to Birds of the Northern California Coast, by Stallcup and Evens
A Field Guide to the Birds of Peru, by Clements and Shany
Birds of Peru, by Schulenberg, Stotz, Lane, O'Neill, and Parker III
The Hummingbird Book: The complete guide to attracting, identifying, and enjoying hummingbirds, by Stokes
Owls of California and the west, by Peeters
Crows of the World, by Goodwin
The Warbler Guide, by Stephenson and Whittle
Peterson Field Guide to Warblers of North America, by Dunn and Garrett
The Backyard Chicken Keeper's Bible
Nestwatch - build bird houses
The Book of Eggs, by Hauber
Peterson Field Guide to North American Bird Nests, by McFarland, Monjello, and Moskowitz
A database of bird feathers
Bandedbirds.org: Report sightings of banded birds
In the Heart of the Sea: the epic true story that inspired Moby Dick, by Philbrick (whaling)
Elephant Seals: A comprehensive guide
A Field Guide to Snakes of Florida, by Tennant
Voyage of the Turtle: In pursuit of the earth's last dinosaur, Safina
Exploring Tidal Life Along the Pacific Coast: with emphasis on Point Reyes National Seashore, by Tierney, Ulmer, Waxdeck, Foster, and Eckenroad
Animals and Plants of Monterey Bay, by Klosterman
Seashore Animals of the Pacific Coast, by Johnson and Snook
Field Guide to Seashore Creatures, by Meinkoth
A Pocket Guide to Sharks of the World, by Ebert, Dando, and Fowler
Pacific Salmon Filed Guide, by Godwin and Krkosek
Crustaceans, by Schmitt
The Crayfish, by Huxley
Borror and Delong's Introduction to the Study of Insects, by Triplehorn and Johnson
Principles of Insect Morphology, by Snodgrass
The Pictorial Encyclopedia of Insects, by Stanek
Western Forest Insects, by Furniss and Carolin
Field Guide to California Insects, by Will, Gross, Rubiinoff, and Powell
Tracks & Sign of Insects and Other Invertebrates: A Guide to North American Species, by Charney and Eiseman
Entomological Techniques: How to Work with Insects, by Peterson
Firefly encyclopedia of insects and spiders, by O’toole
Beetles, by Jones
Field Guide to the Beetles of California, by Evans and Hogue
Introduction to California Beetles, by Evans and Hogue
The Beetles of the Pacific Northwest, by Hatch
A Natural History of Ladybird Beetles, by Majerus, Roy and Brown
Dung Beetle Ecology, by Hanski and Cambefort
Medical and Veterinary Entomology, by Mullen and Durden
Medical Parasitology, by John and Petri
The Sucking Lice, by Ferris
Mosquitoes of California, by Bohart and Washino
Common Dragonflies and Damselflies of the Pacific Coast, by Walker
Termites: Biology and pest management, by Pearce
Ants: Their structure, development, and behavior, by Wheeler
The Cerambycidae of North America, by Linsley
The Beekeeper's Bible: Bees, honey recipes, and other home uses
The Bees of the World, by Michener
Bees: A natural history, by O'Toole
The Honey Bee, by Gould
The Hive and the Honeybee, by Dadant and Sons
The Bees in your Backyard, by Wilson and Carril
Bee Genetics and Breeding, by Rinderer
The New Starting Right with Bees: a beginner's handbook on beekeeping, by Flottum and Summers
Attracting Native Pollinators: Protecting North America's bees and butterflies, by the Xerces Society
Attracting Beneficial Bugs to your Garden, by Walliser
Xerces Society: About Monarch butterflies and planting plants to help them
Field Guide to Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay and Sacramento Valley Regions, by Shapiro and Manolis
Western Butterflies, by Opler and Wright
Butterflies of North America, by Brock and Kaufman
The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies
Butterflies of the World, by Sbordoni and Forestiero
Basic Techniques for Observing and Studying Moths and Butterflies, by Winter Jr.
Silkworms, by Johnson
Bumble bees of the Western United States
Bee Basics: An introduction to our native bees
California Insects, by Powell and Hogue
Field Guide to Insects and Spiders and related species of North America, by Evans
Field Guide to Grasshoppers, Katydids, and Crickets of the United States, by Capinera, Scott, and Walker
That Gunk on Your Car: A unique guide to insects of North America, by Hostetler
Insect Enemies of Western Forests, by Keen
Common Spiders of North America, by Bradley
Plants
Western Garden book, edited by Brenzel. There are several editions, and they go over the care of plants, mainly garden plants.
Back to Basics: A backyard guide to buying and working land, raising livestock, generating your own energy, enjoying your harvest, household skills and crafts and more, by Gehring
California Native Plants for the Garden, by Bornstein, Fross, and O'Brien
Re imagining the California Lawn, by Bornstein, Fross, and O-Brien
National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Wildflowers: Western Region, by Spellenberg
Newcomb's Wildflower Guide, by Newcomb
Plants of the Coast Redwood Region, by Lyons and Cooney-Lazaneo
Pacific States Wildflowers, by Niehaus and Ripper
Peterson Field Guide to Wildflowers: Northeastern and North-central North America, by Peterson and McKenny
Common Backyard Weeds of the Upper Midwest, by Marrone
Wildflowers of the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, by Boyd
A Pine Barrens Odyssey, Boyd
Peterson Field Guide to Eastern Forests, by Kricher
Peterson Field Guide to Eastern Trees, by Petrides
Climate-Wise Landscaping, by Reed and Stibolt
The Manual of Cultivated Orchid Species, by Bechtel, Cribb, and Launert
Grasses: An identification guide, by Brown
Grasses in California, by Beecher
Timber Press Pocket Guide to Bamboos, by Meredith
Fern Grower's Manual, by Hoshizaki and Moran
Encyclopedia of Ferns, by Jones
Encyclopedia of Garden Ferns, by Olsen
Botany in a Day: The patterns method of plant identification, by Elpel
100 Plants to feed the Monarch: Create a healthy habitat to sustain North America's most beloved butterfly, by the Xerces Society
100 Plants to Feed the Bees: Provide a healthy habitat to help pollinators thrive, by the Xerces Society
Pacific Seaweeds, by Druehl and Clarkston
Tom Brown's Field Guide: Wild Edible and Medicinal Plants
Wild Berries and Fruits: Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan, by Marrone
Wild Berries and Fruits: Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio, by Marrone
Wild Berries and Fruits: Minnesota, Rocky Mountain States, by Marrone
Wild Berries and Fruits: Illinois, Iowa, and Missouri, by Marrone
The Bay Area Forager: Your guide to the edible wild plants of the San Francisco Bay Area, by Andler and Feinstein
Abundantly Wild: Collecting and cooking wild edibles of the Upper Midwest, by MarroneEdible Wild Plants: A North American field guide to over 200 natural foods, by Elias and Dykeman
The Forager's Harvest: A guide to identifying, harvesting, and preparing edible wild plants, by Thayer
Edible Wild Plants: Wild foods from dirt to plate, by Kallas
Nature's Garden: A guide to identifying, harvesting, and preparing edible wild plants, by Thayer
Sam Thayer's Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America, by Thayer
Edible and Useful Plants of California, by Clarke
Incredible Wild Edibles, by Thayer
Edible Wild Plants, by Elias and Dykeman
A Field Guide to Edible Wild Plants of Eastern and Central North America, by Peterson
Guide to Wild Foods and Useful Plants, by Nyerges
Stalking the Wild Asparagus, by Gibbons
Early Uses of California Plants, by Balls
A Handbook of Native American Herbs, by Hutchens
Indian Herbology of North America, by Hutchens
The Cherokee Herbal: Native plant medicine from the four directions, by Garrett
Cherokee Plants and their Uses: a 400 year history, by Hamel and Chiltoskey
Native Harvests: Recipes and botanicals of the American Indian, by Kavasch
How Indians Use Wild Plants for Food, Medicine, and Crafts, by Densmore
Discovering Wild Plants: Alaska, Western Canada, the Northwest, by Schofield
Wild Remedies: How to forage healing foods and craft your own herbal medicine, by Foret and Han
Medicinal Plants of the Pacific West, by Moore
Northeast Medicinal Plants: Identify, harvest, and use 111 wild herbs for health and wellness, by Neves
Peterson Field Guide to Medicinal Plants and Herbs: Eastern and Central North America, by Foster and Duke
Medicinal Plants of the Mountain West, by Moore
Medicinal Plants and Herbs, by Foster and Hobbs
Identifying and Harvesting Edible and Medicinal Plants in wild and not so wild places, by Brill and Dean
The Big Book of Backyard Medicine: The ultimate guide to home-grown herbal remedies, by Bruton-Seal and Seal
The Green Pharmacy Guide to Healing Foods, by Duke
Invasive Plant Medicine, by Scott
Wilderness Medicine, by Forgey
The Modern Herbal Dispensatory, by Easley and Horne
The Backyard Herbal Apothecary, by Young
Rosemary Gladstar's Medicinal Herbs: A beginner's guide
A Modern Herbal, by Grieve
The Homesteader's Herbal Companion: the ultimate guide to growing, preserving, and using herbs, by Fewell
The Herbal Apothecary: 100 medicinal herbs and how to use them, by Pursell
The Herbal Kitchen, by McBride
Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine, by Chevallier
The Earthwise Herbal: A complete guide to old world medicinal plants, by Wood
Peterson Field Guide to Venomous Animals and Poisonous Plants, by Foster and Caras
Peterson Field Guide to Mushrooms, by McKnight
Mushrooms Demystified, by Arora
Mushrooms of Western North America, by Orr
National Audubon Society: Mushrooms of North America
Mushrooms of the Redwood Coast: A comprehensive guide to the fungi of coastal Northern California, by Siegel and Schwarz
Mushrooms of the Northwest, by Marrone
Mushrooms of the Northeast, by Marrone
Mushrooms of the Upper Midwest, by Marrone
How to Forage for Mushrooms Without Dying, by Hyman
Mushrooming Without Fear, by Schwab
All That the Rain Promises, and More: A hip pocket guide to western mushrooms, by Arora
Composting: an easy household guide, by Scott
The Rodale Book of Composting, by Gershuny and Martin
Ideas for Magic Development
Dr. Pitcairn's Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs and Cats. By Pitcairn.
The Healing Touch, by Fox.
The Tellington TTouch:A Breakthrough Technique to Tran and Care for your Favorite Animal. By Tellington-Jones and Taylor.
Homeopathic First Aid Treatment for Pets. These last few are good for animals in magic worlds.
The Healing Power of Gemstones, by Johari.
The Curious Lore of Precious Stones, by Kunz
Language of Flowers, by Greenaway
Magic and Medicine of plants, from Reader's Digest.
The Herbalist, from Meyerbooks.
Garden Spells: The Magic of Herbs, Trees, and Flowers, by Nahmad.
Herbs and Things, by Moore.
The Yoga of Herbs, by Frawley and Lad.
Amazing Real Life Coincidences, by Colligan
Psychic Pets and Spirit Animals, by FATE Magazine
The Strange World of Animals and Pets, by Gaddis
The Psychic Power of Animals, by Schul
Visitations from the Afterlife, by Lawson
Other
This is a blog post, that I'm putting here mainly for my own reference. It's just a (short) list of the few romances that I like in fiction.
Familiar Quotations, from Bartlett
Webster's Pocket Rhyming Dictionary
Roget's Pocket Thesaurus
I have this one book called the Random House Word Menu. It has big categories of words, arranged by topics. Good for brainstorming?
It might be handy to have some foreign language dictionaries
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