Do You Like Change?

For the Sheldons out there, don't worry, the changes I'm referring to are very minor, and they are all good ones :)

So since last week's 3P15 class, I've fixed up my blog a bit! I took suggestions from students, my professor and a very helpful fellow blogger that I got to take a look at things, and here is what I came up with:

#1: A New Title!

I'll openly admit that I'm not very good at coming up with titles for things, whether it's an academic paper, a short story, or even a blog!

Aaaand... I'll admit that I might have been listening to a lot of Beyoncé when I set this up.

I am somebody who can admit fault, so I decided to make the title the same as the URL for the blog. Honestly, I think it suits my blog better anyway.

#2: Some Graphics & General Tidying

With some help from an amazing lady, SparkleGirl Jen, I was given some advice from another fellow blogger (who also uses Blogspot) on how I can fix things on the sidebar to make them a little nicer and more organized.

Originally I was going to try out one of the dynamic views, but the background color on that template is a standard grey, and you're stuck without changing a lot of other features. So I'm weighing aesthetics over coolness, perhaps, but I think it works :)

Jen also showed me a great site with some graphics to display for my various links. It cleans things up, and they really do look great. If anybody else reading here is curious, perhaps as another fellow blogger, you can take a look at the site she directed me to here.

#3: A "Check These Out!" Section.

So I figured, I stumble along a lot of stuff across the internet that I find rather fascinating. Whether it's a site or a store or whatever else.

And I decided I would occasionally post something here for all of you to look at. Maybe you'll discover something new!

For the record, what I'm posting aren't directly ads; No money has changed hands in order for me to be posting whatever I choose to post. These are just things that I find cool at the moment.

I'm pretty sure a permanent link to the IGGPPC will stay there, but I'll try and change it up each week with my current obsessions.

For example, this week I'll post a link to a site I love to order things from, RedBubble. Typically I order stickers from there, which are vinyl and geeky and amazing, but they have other great things like prints, t-shirts and iPhone cases. Here's a few things I've bought from the site before, either for myself or for others:

And that's about all the changes I've made! I guess the obvious question here would be

What do you think of the new changes?

I'll be doing more of a regular post (hopefully Halloween themed) later this week. Until then,

~ 4EvaGeek

A Review of 'From Up On Poppy Hill'

You might be wondering, compared to my other posts, why I'm suddenly deciding to do a review of something.

Well, first of all, I love writing reviews! I used to review plays & musicals back in high school for this program called CAPPIES, my work was published in a couple local newspapers, and I even got an award for it.

Second of all, what I also love is any movie created by genius filmmaker, Hayao Miyazaki, whom has unfortunately announced this year that he will be retiring after his next movie, set to be released in June.

If you haven't heard of him, he is the brilliance behind various animated movies created in Japan but brought to North America through companies such as Walt Disney Home Entertainment and Buena Vista International.

The movies that Hayao Miyazaki is responsible for are all fronted through Studio Ghibli, and these movies apply to a variety of audiences, from children to adults and beyond. Here are a few of the movies he is responsible for:

There are many, many more amazing animated films to his name, such as My Neighbour Totoro, Castle In The Sky, Ponyo, The Secret World of Arrietty, and Princess Mononoke.

These are movies that I myself grew up with. I specifically have a memory of my grandmother, who passed away this August, dressed up as Santa Claus during Christmas of either 1999 or 2000, and when I sat on his/her lap she handed me a wrapped present, which ended up being a VHS copy of Kiki's Delivery Service, my first exposure to the realm of works from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli.

These movies each have large fandoms surrounding them, because they have such captivating and unique characters, stories and settings. Spirited Away won an Academy Award in 2001 and Howl's Moving Castle was nominated for an Academy Award in 2005.

All of these movies are films that myself and other people like me have grown up with, and so we can generally understand as to why fans can be so dedicated to these films, even for those that no longer are or have never been partial to animated features.

Now I would like to look specifically at the newest release, From Up On Poppy Hill.

Based off of the 1980 manga series, the movie is set in 1963 in Yokohama, Japan. It centers around two main characters: Umi Matsusaki, a high school student that lives and works in a boarding house, her father dead and her mother studying abroad in America, as well as Shun Kazama, whom she first meets leaping off an old clubhouse at her school and where she goes to his aid.

A large focus of this movie is the signal flags that Umi raises each morning, and that Shun knows how to read. Before watching this movie I did not know much about signal flags, and if you would like to learn a bit about them there is a link to a Wikipedia page here. The flags that Umi raises simply read "I pray for safe voyages". These particular flags of Umi's are also referenced early in the movie in a poem that is located in her school newspaper. The poem reads:

Fair girl,

Why do you send your thoughts to the sky?

The wind carries them aloft to mingle with the crows.

Trimmed with blue, your flags fly again today.

This movie is far from a typical love story, and not just because of the circumstances surrounding the main characters. Miyazaki's romance plots are never typical, and it is something of a staple of his works. Something that stands out about this story compared to his others is that the main characters are high school age, where more often than not the characters that are the main focus of his other movies are more often children than teenagers. This isn't always the case, such as with Howl's Moving Castle where age is a theme of the movie.

Miyazaki's decision to focus on this age group with his newest film in no way limits the range of an audience that will be drawn towards these characters and the story overall. Like in his previous works, there is a realistic nature in these characters, brought on by the English voice cast (Sarah Bolger as Umi, Anton Yelchin as Shun), the animation led by an experienced team from Studio Ghibli, as well as the direction of the film, done by Gorō Miyazaki, eldest son of Hayao Miyazaki.

Perhaps the first element of the film to stick out to me was the music, since it's one of the very first things to appear when the movie starts, but the music remains attention-grabbing - albeit not in a distracting way - as well as incredibly fitting. The music fits not only with the time period in which the story is set, but it also helps to greatly compliment each scene. The English songs that the students sing together are also rather beautiful. The first time the students sing together, the song has very pleasant lyrics, but the humorous connotation of the scene where the members of the debate begin singing in order to ward off the school's teachers easily remains.

Of course it is Miyazaki Sr. and Keiko Niwa's screenplay that is the most outstanding feature of the entire film. With humor sprinkled in at unexpected times, the tender kinship between Umi and Shun that graduates naturally over time, and other subtle or grand aspects of the story, From Up On Poppy Hill easily keeps up with the classic films preceding it, able to stand on its own without being eclipsed. Miyazaki creates a strong connection between the audience and the characters in his writing, whether its the main characters, the secondary ones such as Umi's younger sister Sora or Shun's best friend Shiro, or even random club members in the back ground discussing the archaeology club and then scurrying away.

I remember once hearing in the special features on the DVD for Spirited Away where a man from Disney stated that Miyazaki very much has the mind of a child, where he is able to capture the subtleties of humans, specifically children, and inhabit them in his work. One example I remember from that movie is the way in which Chihiro puts on her shoes.

(I wish I had an image to better explain what I mean. Unfortunately I couldn't find one)

Overall, this new story brought to us by Hayao Miyazaki is as original as his other works, and is ultimately captivating, heartbreaking, intriguing, entertaining, as well as a whole lot of other adjectives ending in -ing that I can't currently think of. Whether young or old, whether you've seen the other films or this is your first time interacting with a Studio Ghibli film, I recommend this video to anyone that enjoys a good, well-written story that will transport them to another time, another world, which will stay with you long after the movie is over.

That about wraps things up! Like I said, I recommend anybody that has a desire to watch this film to find a copy as soon as possible, and then tell me,

What were your thoughts on From Up On Poppy Hill?

Give me as much detail as you'd like - I want to know everything, whether you agree with my points or not.

Alright, until next time!

~ 4EvaGeek

If You've Got It, Flaunt It! (Intro to Geek Pride)

So for those of you that would categorize yourself as a geek, let me ask you...

Do you show it?

I mean, on a regular basis. Where you walk the walk, talk the talk, and make sure that nobody gets through a conversation with you without realizing that you're at least a little bit weird.

Maybe that doesn't sound the most appealing to you. Maybe you're the type of person that doesn't mind sitting in the corner, never getting noticed, keeping all of your unique hobbies and interests to yourself.

And really there's nothing wrong with that. If you are completely content with the set-up you've got going on right now, then who am I to tell you that you need a change?

But maybe you feel like you're alone in the world and that there isn't anybody else like you out there. Or maybe at times you feel the slightest bit ashamed of who you are and the things you like.

Pardon my French, but fuck that noise!

Personally, I like being weird. I know that I can be different than a lot of people that I come into contact with. Sometimes it's my personality, sometimes it's my interests, but more often than not I enjoy flaunting those things.

I believe there are a great number of geeks that like to keep to themselves when really they shouldn't hide. There are several ways in which people can exhibit their pride in being a geek on a regular basis that don't require holding a big cardboard sign over their head.

Here's a very simple way in which people can express their interests without having to say a word about them: Geeky Accessories.

These are just a few examples of the pins that I like to show off on a regular basis. The top picture is from the lapel of my fall jacket, and the bottom picture is from my backpack. The pins range from video games to anime to just general geekiness and silliness.

I could probably do an entire post dedicated to geeky accessories and clothing (and I probably will do just that at some point), but this is just a small example of how you can show off your geek pride; little things like pins or jewelry or a shirt that says "Keep Calm And Get Your Geek On!" will do the trick, and you don't have to interact with a single soul!

Another way to show off your geek pride would be to talk about the things you're interested in.

For some, this is easier said than done. For others, it's not even fathomable.

As an example, I work in retail; I try and chat with customers as often as I can, and it comes a lot more easily when I can tell that we have some sort of common interest. And sometimes it works out, and sometimes it doesn't.

For instance, pretty much any time a teenage girl brings up a copy of The Fault In Our Stars by John Green up to the counter, I can easily talk about how much I liked the book, and ask if they're excited for the movie that's currently in production, and they immediately start beaming and are completely eager to start gushing about the rest of the books.

And just the other day, I saw a woman purchasing a copy of Otaku USA. I asked her if she was a fan of any of the Studio Ghibli films (Spirited Away, Castle In The Sky, Howl's Moving Castle, etc.), and tried to talk about how sad I was over the fact that the director Hayao Miazaki would be retiring after his next movie. I got more or less shut down for conversation by her, and I felt kind of crappy after she gave me an odd look and left.

So that wasn't so great... nevertheless, it didn't discourage me from wanting to be open with people about the things I'm passionate about. I guess the moral I'm trying to get across here is that you shouldn't let anything discourage you, and even if you have to be the one to manufacture the conversation, talking is a great step in exhibiting your geek pride, whether it's a stranger you bump into that's wearing a bunch of adorable anime pins, or to your closest friends.

I've got one more for you guys, and it's going to sound kind of preachy, but there is some validity to this statement: Just be yourself.

Cliche and tacky, I get it. But think about it: there's no real geek pride to be found in hiding things about yourself.

If you have the urge to squeal at the new release of Pokemon X and Pokemon Y, even if you're standing in front of EB Games, letting out a tiny squeal is not going to hurt anybody (emphasis on the word tiny). 

And it doesn't even have to be related to your interests, it can just be you exhibiting a bit of that weirdness you've got bottled up somewhere inside.

Maybe you're standing in place talking with friends and you get the sudden urge to twirl in place while still listening to your friend talking about his latest homework assignment. Sure, maybe at first your friends will be taken aback, but soon enough it might just become your signature mood. Again, nothing wrong with that.

All in all, being different is good, whether it's your interests or your personality or a fun combination of both, and nobody should ever tell you differently.

I think that's it for now! And I'll leave behind a single question:

How do you exhibit your geek pride?

Let me know what you think!

~4EvaGeek

"Who Wrote This?" "Shakespeare!" (Web Series Madness!)

I'm sure the title of this post was a bit confusing. Well ^this^ is what it's from!

And now I bet that you're even more confused!

Well, I do realize that my last couple posts were a bit on the long side (especially the very last post I did with all the crazy writing and the many, many video clips. I'm hoping this one will be shorter, less writing and a bit more relaxed and just something that people can sit back and enjoy.

Now fair warning: This post will have a lot of video clips, most likely. But I will do my best not to overload you with writing. If there's something that you're unclear about or that you want to learn more about, just ask me on Twitter or in the comments, no problem whatsoever!

Alright, so anyway, this week I'm going to be showing you guys my favorite web series from YouTube, and I'll explain a little bit about why I like each one, but I won't go into too much detail, especially since there are a couple web series I wanted to cover for my upcoming Case Study projects.

So let's get started!

But WAIT!

You Need to know something first!

A Web Series

IS NOT THE SAME AS

A Video Blog (Vlog)

And I will provide you with a quick example instead of giving you a boring dictionary definition.

This is a Vlog:

(You guys don't have to watch the entire thing, I know it's a longer video - I'm sure my point has been understood)

Alright, so in no particular order, I will be listing some of my favorite geeky YouTube web series.

#1: The Lizzie Bennet Diaries

Since I posted a link to the first video in my last blog, I thought I'd post my favorite episode out of the first 10.

So just a little bit about why I like this series: I'm a bit of an Austenite, for one, in case you guys didn't know that about me. Also, such as in this episode, it's pretty hilarious all the way through. And I started watching this series pretty early in while they were still posting 2 videos a week, and following along with it and watching these character grow over the course of a year was pretty great.

Not to mention... THIS SHOW WON AN EMMY.

Yes, I'm not kidding! This series won a Creative Arts Emmy! You can look it up if you don't believe me!

#2: Hey Ash What'cha Playin'

This series is about various video games, and is done by the brother & sister team Anthony and Ashly Burch. I barely play half of the video games they do, but it doesn't matter and I'm still able to laugh at every video these guys make.

Quick little fun fact for you: Anthony Burch works for Gearbox Software and is the head writer of the game Borderlands 2. Ashly Burch did the voice for a popular character in the game, Tiny Tina.

Now for clips! Here is the one I show to people who laugh at physical comedy:

And for those who prefer more "intellectual" humor:

#3: Board With Life

So, I'll admit, I started watching this series because Ashly Burch is in it.

But I kept watching it because it's an honest and entertaining series about a group of friends and their love for board games, and while there are a lot of videos related to board games on YouTube I'd never actually seen a fictional series surrounding it.

These guys release bits every week too, even though the first season of the series is over, and this one made me laugh so much that I really want to buy and play this game:

#4: Job Hunters

So basically, this series is a bit similar to post-apocalyptic plots like you would find in The Hunger Games, only this series focuses more on the problem of overpopulation.

This series has its series moments, but it also has really silly moments such as Avery yelling at a toaster, a unicorn named Cornelius, and of course, tiny marshmallows.

And that's it for now! There are of course some other series I watch, such as Squaresville, School of Thrones (which is only 3 episodes long), and I am counting down the days until EMMA Approved begins, which is the second Austen adapted series created by Hank Green and Bernie Su (it airs on October 7th, in case anyone is interested).

Each of these series have their own dedicated fandom backing them. The sizes of those fandoms varies for each series, but the internet is full of people (like me! :) ) geeking out about all of these videos.

And I suppose that's it for now! Don't forget to check out my various links on the side there, and I will leave you all today with a question:

#1: What is your favorite fictional web series?

#2: If you don't have any web series that you follow on a regular basis, what are your thoughts based on the clips/full episodes provided here?

That's all for now! Thanks for reading guys!

~ 4EvaGeek