A Sorta Fairytale

Have yourself a merry little Christmas...

2009-12-19T16:03:12Z

This is really cute:

Also, for those who may have missed it, here is my post from last year about St. Jude and other charitable organizations I support.

Joie

hymnia @ 2009-11-04T17:57:00

2009-11-04T23:13:20Z

So it's been one month to the day now since I became a vegetarian, and I have to say, it's going rather well. I'm pretty sure I can stick with it for the long haul. (I do miss fish, though...)

Trying to go vegan...not so much. I've managed to make it through a mostly-dairy-free month (no cheese, milk, milk-based yogurt, or frozen dairy deserts; I've fudged a bit on chocolate, cheese crackers, and "hidden dairy"). In the long run, I'm still planning to minimize use of animal products, but I'm not really committed enough ideologically to put in the work it requires to cut out all animal products. I plan to go back to eating cheese on a limited basis this Friday. (My school orders Domino's Pizza on Fridays. I'm planning to get one slice and bring a salad to go with it.)

Joie

"Incorrigible" girls

2009-10-24T19:11:10Z

This article about the closing of a 120-year-old girls' reform school provides some interesting food for thought on how the status of girls (and teens in general) has changed over the years:

It was common practice for much of the facility's history to lock up young abuse victims rather than their abusers.

Joie

A good post for an Aang icon

2009-10-05T02:47:34Z

This is something I've been thinking about for a while, but tonight, after reading this book, I've made up my mind, and I wanted to announce it to teh intarwebz as a form of accountability: I'm going vegetarian, and maybe vegan in the long run.

My main reasons for it are health and environmental concerns, but the animal cruelty involved in large-scale farming isn't cool either.

Any advice from vegetarians and vegans on my flist is TOTALLY WELCOME!

Joie

A House Divided

2009-10-01T23:31:08Z

It's interesting to me how fandom has a way of bringing together people with widely disparate views and passions into one volatile community. I want to understand that better. And so, a poll:

View Poll: Stories

Also, I have another question for those of you who have been involved in more than one fandom and/or have experience with multi-fandom or pan-fandom communities (Fandom Wank or Cosplay.com, for example):

What would you say are the most common sources of conflict in fandoms? What do people argue about the most? What issues are most likely to cause a fandom to divide into smaller cliques?

I would really like to get a lot of good responses for this, so please, if this discussion interests you, than not only answer, but also PIMP IT FAR AND WIDE! Thank you!

Joie

Truth and comfort

2009-09-30T23:06:38Z

Still need to:

1) Read flist.
2) Answer pairing meme.

But for now, a quote, gacked from beliefnet.com:

If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end; if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth, only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin, and in the end, despair.

- C.S. Lewis

Pairing meme

2009-09-30T03:40:17Z

Thanks to Naruto fandom, I've taken to calling them "pairings" rather than "ships". Other than nomenclature, not much changes between fandoms when it comes to "pairings"--both the good and the bad.

Anyway, just for fun, a meme, stolen from quite a few of you:

NAME A FANDOM AND I'LL TELL YOU MY:
♥ OTP
♥ Runner-up
♥ Honorable mention(s)
♥ Crack pairing(s)
♥ Ship everyone else seems to like, but I don't

Joie

MOAR Avatar Cosplay

2009-08-30T22:24:07Z

Here are a few more AFO pictures I just received from demonalchemist9. The first two are in a bit better lighting than the last batch I posted.

This is my favorite piece of Avatar swag: a canvas tote with beautiful fanart of Prince Zuko. I bought it along with several prints by the same artist at Megacon earlier this year.

Bad lighting again, but otherwise I like this pic I got with a flirty Zuko cosplayer:

Joie

AFO: Avatar and Furuba cosplay pics!

2009-08-20T01:33:29Z

So it occurred to me today that I never posted pics of Anime Festival Orlando, which is really a shame, because, well…I think my costumes turned out really well this year and I want to show them off!

In the pics that follow, I am dressed as Mai from Avatar: The Last Airbender, and Arisa Uotani from Fruits Basket. I worked hard on the costume for Mai, and I feel this costume shows how far my sewing skills have come. The Uo costume was simpler in terms of what I had to sew, since I just modified store-bought items, but I'm pleased with how it turned out, too. (I think I make a pretty good Uo in terms of facial expressions/body language, too.) Well, see what you think:

Fire Nation Trio vs. Suki:

Suki defeated:

*sigh* I thought that would be more exciting:

BFF (as long as no boys come between us):

A different girl trio, from Fruits Basket:

Meanwhile, the boys are at it again:

Fierce Yanki girl:

The whole gang:

Playing Dai Hin Min:

If you like the Furuba pics I've posted, I recommend clicking through to the album, as it was a really good photo shoot over all. (For the Avatar costumes we were losing our lighting, I'm afraid. We might have to a arrange another photoshoot of those costumes some time.)

Joie

Troll in the Dungeon!

2009-08-13T22:21:18Z

Long but worthwhile read: The Trolls Among Us

Here's a sample:

But even if we had the resources to aggressively prosecute trolls, would we want to? Are we ready for an Internet where law enforcement keeps watch over every vituperative blog and backbiting comments section, ready to spring at the first hint of violence? Probably not. All vigorous debates shade into trolling at the perimeter; it is next to impossible to excise the trolling without snuffing out the debate.

ETA: Of course, I don't endorse trolling, and I find the examples in the article pretty disgusting. But how and why trolling occurs in this frontier land called the Internet is a topic that fascinates me. The article also brought to mind The Msscribe Story. I half expected her to be one of the examples used in the article, but I suppose she didn't quite rate The New York Times.

Joie

Cosplaying Jesus & AFO

2009-08-05T21:04:14Z

I've definitely seen a few Jesus cosplayers in my con-going life: Are you a Jesus poser? Am I?

In other con-related news, I went to Anime Festival Orlando last weekend. It was a blast. I dressed as Arisa Uotani from Fruits Basket on Friday and Sunday, and Mai from Avatar: The Last Airbender on Saturday. I think both costumes turned out really well--maybe my best ever. Pics and more details to come soon...

Joie

Seeking God

2009-07-29T17:31:10Z

From Beliefnet's "Daily Christian Wisdom":

How tragic that we in this dark day have had our seeking done for us by our teachers. Everything is made to center upon the initial act of ‘accepting’ Christ (a term, incidentally, which is not found in the Bible) and we are not expected thereafter to crave any further revelation of God to our souls. We have been snared in the coils of a spurious logic which insists that if we have found Him we need no more seek Him. The experiential heart-theology of a grand army of fragrant saints is rejected in favor of a smug interpretation or Scripture which would certainly have sounded strange to an Augustine, a Rutherford or a Brainerd.

- A.W. Tozer

Fandom Interest Survey

2009-07-17T18:55:52Z

I'm curious to get a better grasp on what fandoms interest you, flist! So, I present a poll. You've probably seen this type of poll before. ;)

A few notes about how to answer:

Let's say there are three levels of "interest" in a story:
1) Interested enough to read or watch it
2) Interested enough to seek discussion, fanfiction, graphics, etc.
3) Interested enough to actively participate in fandom

For the first two questions, please mark all the fandoms that you have level 2 or 3 interest in, but don't mark them if your interest is only at level 1. Does that make sense?

For the last question, please check the 3 or 4 activities that interest you the most. You may choose activities that you only enjoy passively. For example, you may still choose "fanfiction" even if you only read it and don't write any yourself. (I'm looking for what draws you to fandom, which can as easily be the creations of others as the opportunity to create fanworks yourself.)

View Poll: Fandom Interest Survey

Thanks!

Joie

Girl Power

2009-07-15T15:46:15Z

So someone is hosting a contest of great female characters, and I decided to make a nomination.

Vote for Tohru!

No other Fruits Basket characters have been nominated yet as of where my comment shows up on p. 13, so if anyone wants to make another nomination, you don't have to check every single page.

Also, I put in my vote on these threads:

Nymphadora Tonks

(Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Molly, and Fleur all have threads as well, but I didn't save the links. Sorry.)

Sakura Haruno

Not nearly enough anime girls are nominated so far, IMO! There are some threads for several of the Sailor Senshi, though, if anyone wants to find them. (I definitely recall seeing Moon, Mars, and Neptune.)

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

Sophie from Howl's Moving Castle also has a thread, but I didn't see any other Miyazaki girls.

Katara, Toph, and Azula all have threads if anyone wants to find them. They all have a lot of votes right now, too, so I actually didn't bother voting for them.

Joie

Fruits Basket scrapbook competition

2009-07-15T00:45:15Z

Most of you who are Furuba fans probably already know about the Fruits Basket Scrapbook competition Tokyopop recently ran to celebrate the release of the final volume in the series. Anyway, I just wanted to let you guys know that they put up five of the entries on their website, and it just so happens that the entry my cosplay group submitted is one of the five! :D Go check it out (it's the only one with cosplay pics, so it should be obvious which one it is):

Fruits Basket Scrapbook entries

It's not clear to me what that means as far as whether or not we made it into the actual scrapbook that is supposed to be delivered to Natsuki Takaya. I get the impression showing up on the website might be a "runner up" deal. Either way, it's nice to have our entry recognized.

Joie

Mixed gender friendship meme

2009-06-21T15:58:00Z

From umadoshi:

So, we hear a lot about how most male/female relationships in fiction are romantic, and most memes that involve relationships focus on shipping. So here’s something a bit different: list 10 (or more) platonic male/female relationships in fiction that you enjoy.

Rules:

1. They interact in canon, preferably in a significant (apply your own interpretation of such) way.
2. They are not related. They can, however, view each other as surrogate family.
3. Neither has confessed or implied romantic love for the other in canon.
4. They have not dated, been married, had sex, or made out in canon, on purpose, and over their own free will.
5. A popular fanon ship is ok (though preferably not your ship) but a canon pairing you wish were just friends is out.
6. Try to avoid character/canon overlap.
7. They don’t have to be friends.

Many of these are popular fanon ships, so I might get some flack for declaring them non-romantic. I'll at least admit that there are some things between some of these pairs that can be interpreted as romantic, but I don't feel there's anything in canon that says any of these must be seen as having a romantic element.

1. Harry and Hermione (Harry Potter)
2. Rukia and Ichigo (Bleach)
3. Katara and Zuko (Avatar) (Runners up: Toph and Aang, Zuko and Ty Lee)
4. Kyo and Hana (Fruits Basket)
5. Obi-Wan and Padme (Star Wars)
6. Kaoru and Yahiko (Kenshin)
7. Laurie and Beth (Little Women)
8. Veronica and Wallace (Veronica Mars) (Runner up: Veronica and Weevil)
9. Shuurei and Eigetsu (Story of Saiunkoku)
10. Hotaru and Prez (Gakuen Alice)

Side note: This almost feels like a corollary to the Bechdel Test (aka The Rule), since it's hard to find good, multifaceted, totally non-romantic relationships between a girl who's "the girl" and anybody—male or female. If she's "the girl", then she tends to become a romantic object in a variety of situations, not just the main romance. Cases in point: Leia in Star Wars, who has at least some kind of romantic element with Luke, Han, and Lando; Elizabeth in PotC, who has some kind of romantic element with Will, Jack, and Barbossa.

Joie

Great quiz: Which Fantasy Writer are You?

2009-06-09T21:41:54Z

I swiped this from blpurdom, and I think it's one of the most interesting quizzes I've done in a while. (It is a bit long, though.) My result:

Your result for Which fantasy writer are you?...

Susan Cooper (b. 1935)

3 High-Brow, -29 Violent, -25 Experimental and -13 Cynical!

Congratulations! You are High-Brow, Peaceful, Traditional and Romantic! These concepts are defined below.

Though born in England, Susan Cooper currently lives in the United States. She is most well-known for her The Dark Is Rising sequence, which has received substantial critical acclaim, the second book (also called The Dark Is Rising) in the series winning a Newbury Honor and the fourth book (The Grey King) being awarded the Newbury Medal, one of the world's most prestigious awards for children's literature. The series is one of the finest examples of contemporary fantasy: the kind of fantasy where magic happens in an actually existing place. The Dark Is Rising is set in Britain, where two common themes of fantasy are combined; that of a magic world parallel to ours, which later became so popular with the Harry Potter books and that of ordinary British school-children playing a role in the struggle between Good and Evil, which had earlier been explored by C S Lewis.

Cooper manages to use the idiom of traditional children books to tell a tale of epic proportions, as evil beings from Celtic legends appear on Earth to do battle with the Old Ones, a secret society of people with magic powers. She is also able to combine this rather romantic vision with important messages, the compassion of one of the children being vital to the cause of Good at one point in the story. In Cooper's world, what you think and do matters on a grand scale, a message children and adults alike should take to their hearts.

You are also a lot like Ursula K Le Guin.

If you want some action, try China Miéville.

If you'd like a challenge, try your exact opposite, Lian Hearn.

Your score

This is how to interpret your score: Your attitudes have been measured on four different scales, called 1) High-Brow vs. Low-Brow, 2) Violent vs. Peaceful, 3) Experimental vs. Traditional and 4) Cynical vs. Romantic. Imagine that when you were born, you were in a state of innocence, a tabula rasa who would have scored zero on each scale. Since then, a number of circumstances (including genetical, cultural and environmental factors) have pushed you towards either end of these scales. If you're at 45 or -45 you would be almost entirely cynical, low-brow or whatever. The closer to zero you are, the less extreme your attitude. However, you should always be more of either (eg more romantic than cynical). Please note that even though High-Brow, Violent, Experimental and Cynical have positive numbers (1 through 45) and their opposites negative numbers (-1 through -45), this doesn't mean that either quality is better. All attitudes have their positive and negative sides, as explained below.

High-Brow vs. Low-Brow

You received 3 points, making you more High-Brow than Low-Brow. Being high-browed in this context refers to being more fascinated with the sort of art that critics and scholars tend to favour, rather than the best-selling kind. At their best, high-brows are cultured, able to appreciate the finer nuances of literature and not content with simplifications. At their worst they are, well, snobs.

Violent vs. Peaceful

You received -29 points, making you more Peaceful than Violent. This scale is a measurement of a) if you are tolerant to violence in fiction and b) whether you see violence as a means that can be used to achieve a good end. If you aren't, and you don't, then you are peaceful as defined here. At their best, peaceful people are the ones who encourage dialogue and understanding as a means of solving conflicts. At their worst, they are standing passively by as they or third parties are hurt by less scrupulous individuals.

Experimental vs. Traditional

You received -25 points, making you more Traditional than Experimental. Your position on this scale indicates if you're more likely to seek out the new and unexpected or if you are more comfortable with the familiar, especially in regards to culture. Note that traditional as defined here does not equal conservative, in the political sense. At their best, traditional people don't change winning concepts, favouring storytelling over empty poses. At their worst, they are somewhat narrow-minded.

Cynical vs. Romantic

You received -13 points, making you more Romantic than Cynical. Your position on this scale indicates if you are more likely to be wary, suspicious and skeptical to people around you and the world at large, or if you are more likely to believe in grand schemes, happy endings and the basic goodness of humankind. It is by far the most vaguely defined scale, which is why you'll find the sentence "you are also a lot like x" above. If you feel that your position on this scale is wrong, then you are probably more like author x. At their best, romantic people are optimistic, willing to work for a good cause and an inspiration to their peers. At their worst, they are easily fooled and too easily lead.

Take Which fantasy writer are you? at HelloQuizzy

I haven't read Cooper's books, but of course I've heard of them. I think we have some at the school where I teach. This makes me want to check them out.

Joie

"What the Lord Had Done in Me" complete lyrics

2009-06-08T05:15:34Z

We sang this song, which is a favorite of mine, in church this morning, and I noticed--as I have the last few times we've done it at my church--that our worship minister had decided to do an abbreviated version of it. This bothers me because he happens to have cut my favorite verse. :( So, mainly for my own satisfaction, but perhaps for the edification of others as well, I'm posting the complete lyrics (missing verse in bold):

"What The Lord Has Done In Me" by Reuben Morgan

Let the weak say I am strong
Let the poor say I am rich
Let the blind say I can see
It's what the Lord has done in me

Hosanna, Hosanna
To the Lamb that was slain
Hosanna, Hosanna
Jesus died and rose again

Into the river I will wade
There my sins are washed away
From the heavens' mercy streams
Of the Savior's love for me

I will rise from waters deep
Into the saving arms of God
I will sing salvation songs
Jesus Christ has set me free

"I will rise from waters deep/Into the saving arms of God" are the lines that have the most impact on me--there's something almost romantic in them, I suppose. ("Romantic" isn't really the right word. I guess I'm not sure how to describe it.)

Joie

Star Trek

2009-06-08T03:14:21Z

I finally saw the new Star Trek! I thought it was fantastic! If any of you posted reactions when it came out and want to link me to them, I would love to read them.

Joie

Shojo manga survey

2009-06-06T05:03:08Z

Rightstuf.com--a fantastic online anime/manga store and licensing/distribution company with a great record for customer service--has a brief (7 questions) survey aimed at fans of shojo anime/manga, especially former Shojo Beat subscribers. If you're into shojo, I highly recommend making your voice heard: http://www.rightstuf.com/rssite/main/shoujo/

1. What are your favorite Shojo Beat anime and manga?

Vampire Knight, Crimson Hero, Honey and Clover, Sand Chronicles

2. What are your all-time favorite anime and manga series?

Fruits Basket, Story of Saiunkoku

3. What kinds of shoujo stories and genres do you enjoy most?

Romantic fantasy like Vampire Knight or Gakuen Alice and thought-provoking slice-of-life like Fruits Basket or Honey and Clover

4. Which web sites, social sites, and communities do you visit/use most often?
(Can be anime/manga-related or not!)

Mostly Livejournal, Facebook a distant second

5. What magazines do you read most frequently? (Can be anime/manga-related or not!)

Shojo Beat, Newsweek, Sojourners, Boundless Webzine

6. After the last issue of the Shojo Beat magazine, how do you plan to stay informed about the latest shoujo news, trends and releases?

Online communities and anime conventions

7. How can we, at RightStuf.com, better serve you as a shoujo manga fan?

License more quality shojo *and josei* series. Also would appreciate more shojo-related merchandise, beyond just Fruits Basket, please!

Joie

Meme time!

2009-05-27T02:37:58Z

Distract me from my laryngitis/horrible hacking cough, plz!

Swiped from umadoshi:

Name your 10 absolutely favorite couples (het/slash/canon/fanon) and ask people to see what trends they notice about your couples. Try to pick different fandoms:

1. Tohru/Kyo (Fruits Basket)
2. Gambit/Rogue (X-Men)
3. Remus/Tonks (Harry Potter)
4. OBHWF (Ron/Hermione + Harry/Ginny - Harry Potter)
5. Jesse/Becca (Life Goes On)
6. Willow/Oz (BTVS)
7. Anakin/Padme (Star Wars)
8. Mai/Zuko (Avatar)
9. Renji/Rukia (Bleach)
10. Logan/Veronica (Veronica Mars)

These aren't really "absolutely" my favorite couples. Since the point of this meme is to invite discussion I favored more well-known pairings over, for example, Ryuuki/Shuurei from Story of Saiunkoku.

Hmmm...I can already see some common threads. What do you think?

Joie

Winning Animusical Idol Skit!

2009-05-26T04:10:43Z

Someone posted our skit on YouTube! Yay!

In case you can't tell (it's a bit fuzzy), I'm Sango, the one in a black bodysuit with red and pink armor, singing the lead in the opening section.

Joie

Shojo Beat cancellation

2009-05-26T03:29:28Z

Publisher's Weekly has an article about Viz Media's launch of a new online manga magazine featuring mostly seinen (men's) manga, which comes on the heels of the cancellation of Shojo Beat, their print manga magazine aimed at teen girls/young women. I'm a subscriber and huge fan of Shojo Beat, so I was deeply disappointed by the news that it would be canceled after only one more issue. Also, while I enjoy a wide variety of manga and anime, I have a special love for shojo (girl's) manga. It is probably the genre of manga that I enjoy the most; I find that I tend to enjoy almost anything shojo that I pick up, whereas I'm more picky about the other genres.

From the above article:

The IKKI launch comes hot on the heels of the news that Shojo Beat, Viz’s premier magazine for girls and young women, will be folding this summer. While shojo (girl’s) manga has been the bedrock of the company - and of manga’s entry into chain bookstores and rise in popularity in the U.S.--it’s notorious for its limitations in merchandising. Few shojo manga grow into the massive anime, video game, feature-length movie and sequel franchises that are common of shonen (boy’s) manga like Naruto or Death Note.

Seriously? Seriously?! Is this why my favorite magazine is being tossed aside? Because it doesn't sell enough merchandise?! ARGH!!! This is the sound of my inner feminist snarling with rage! Don't get me started on how few josei (women's) manga series even get licensed for English-language adaptations. Now shojo--despite being "the bedrock...of manga's entry into chain bookstores and rise in popularity in the U.S.", and despite the fact that in recent years female anime/manga fans have begun to outnumber males--is somehow not good enough for Viz to continue to "place [its] resources" toward a monthly magazine featuring it!

It's not that I don't enjoy some good shonen or seinen series, but watching Viz putting more effort into its shonen and seinen publications at the expense of shojo and josei disgusts me, and it makes me feel a strong urge to avoid its shonen and seinen offerings. While I wouldn't go to the point of discontinuing the series I currently read (Bleach and Fullmetal Alchemist), I do feel strongly that I won't be switching my subscription to Shonen Jump (which is rumored to be one of the refund options for Shojo Beat subscribers), and I won't be checking out IKKI, the new online seinen magazine.

Sorry, Viz. You don't feel you can allocate the resources to cater to my demographic? Then you lose my business.

Joie

P.S. JACON was fun, although I was still sick with a cold I've had all week. Baka Rose Makeup (my cosplay group) won Animusical Idol (an anime-themed lip synch competition) with the song "Forget About the Boy" from Thoroughly Modern Millie. I'll try to post more on the con (including pics) later this week.

Star Trek character quiz

2009-05-16T18:41:04Z

Since everybody's doing it...

Your results:
You are Deanna Troi

Deanna Troi		80%
Uhura		75%
Beverly Crusher		65%
Geordi LaForge		60%
An Expendable Character (Redshirt)		60%
James T. Kirk (Captain)		55%
Leonard McCoy (Bones)		55%
Chekov		55%
Mr. Sulu		55%
Jean-Luc Picard		55%
Data		51%
Will Riker		50%
Spock		47%
Mr. Scott		35%
Worf		35%

You are a caring and loving individual.
You understand people's emotions and
you are able to comfort and counsel them.

Click here to take the "Which Star Trek character are you?" quiz...

I think the result suits me.

Still haven't gotten around to seeing the new movie. :(

Joie

A follow-up question for those who have seen X-Men Origins: Woverine

2009-05-12T02:45:38Z

View Poll: Movie!Gambit