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amethystsoda · 1 year

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your personal top (10?) manga? :))

Hello!!!

I am going to preface this with the fact that I only got into anime around 2014/2015 (Fullmetal Alchemist + Brotherhood) and then read the manga around 2016.

I only started avidly reading around 2019 with digital copies of JoJo and fell into loving manga from there and genuinely becoming a reader/keeping up with new releases and starting to learn Japanese (basic hiragana, etc) in 2021.

My other qualifications for these picks are that I am an irl artist (illustration and stained glass), taught an art history course for 1 year, and I read/write as much as possible outside of work.

I will also say that I may not have finished reading all these series yet, but they are the ones near and dear to my art-loving heart.

Also sorry it’s a few more than 10 *sweats*

Fullmetal Alchemist — Hiromu Arakawa

My very first manga.

Knowing that Arakawa taught herself art while still working on her parents’ farm and used her nights/time off to write it made me so in awe of her drive and skills. The ways the story deals with humanity, war, power, and love make it a timeless classic.

Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure — Hirohiko Araki

It’s bonkers. It’s off the wall. It’s been going since the 80’s and Araki is still working. There’s so much to love. There’s so much to hate. But no matter how you feel about JJBA, it’s undeniably a masterpiece.

Araki’s dedication to the art is one of the biggest draws, with his fashion and art history references and use of bright colors. You can feel his love for the medium shine through his full color pieces!

My personal favorite parts are Phantom Blood, Diamond Is Unbreakable, Stone Ocean, and Jojolion (ikik all the “boring” parts, but I think that’s where the characters are most interesting)

Jujutsu Kaisen -- Gege Akutami

My next big read after JoJo. After watching season 1 of the anime, I knew I needed more. The way that Gege uses the classic shonen tropes combined with explorations of life and death is very strong storytelling.

We learn from the start about curses, cursed energy, we witness a major death in the protagonist’s life and he’s given a goal:

“You’re a strong kid, so help others. Even if it’s only those closest to you, just save the people you can. It’s okay if you lose your way, and don’t worry about whether they’ll thank you or not. Just save as many people as you can, even if it’s only one.”

The series often shows us what it means to save even one and the self sacrifice that comes from protecting others, even if it’s painful or difficult. Throw iconic characters into the mix and you have the basis for an already notable classic shonen manga.

Spy x Family — Tatsuya Endo

Found family slice of life with a big dose of action and fluff?? Literally the perfect comfort manga. I saw enough promos on tumblr that I finally caved and started it in 2020 and I LOVED it.

More people are familiar now bc of the anime’s popularity, but I definitely recommend reading it as well! The art is consistently high quality, the face expressions are hilarious, and the main concept of fighting for peace is re-stated throughout the storyline.

Loid took on this mission and his spy position to bring peace. He never wants to see the horrors of war again. He never wants to see another child cry. The family may be “fake” but the feelings are real.

Witch Hat Atelier — Kamome Shirahama

I cannot stop giving high praises for this series!!!! It’s like if you mixed Ghibli’s nature and art with Narnia or LOTR’s fantasy vibes. The magic system is based on drawing and it’s such a treat for artists to read.

Shirahama also uses a lot of traditional art references for her work, like rococo, art nouveau, classic illustration, etc. She’s won awards for the series and every one is deserved.

Also the two main witches, Qifrey and Olruggio, are definitely in love and take the best care of their witch students (cough daughters) in the atelier. Qifrey is like if you mixed Howl Pendragon with Gojo Satoru. Olruggio is the traditional tsundere with a heart of gold.

The series also talks a lot about disability and how we can improve others’ lives to make them more comfortable and accessible! It’s a very unique world and story that draws you in and makes you feel at home.

Chainsaw Man — Tatsuki Fujimoto

Yes, the series everyone is currently talking about. And I’m not going to call it peak or goat, but I think the concept is very strong and well-executed.

Fujimoto pulls you in from the intro (esp Pochita, how can you not love a cute little chainsaw dog!?), he makes you care about the characters, and slowly rips your heart out chapter by chapter. It’s won awards for good reason.

Not everyone is morally black and white. There’s giant battles and dynamic art. The main character just wants to touch some boobs. The other main guy is basically a househusband after work hours. Add in a pretty girl blood devil who doesn’t like vegetables. An Angel Devil who can kill someone through a touch and loves ice cream. A sopping wet kitten of a girl who works at her family’s burger place and hunts devils on the side. etc etc.

The characters are one of the strongest aspects of Chainsaw Man and their dynamics with each other. Hate, love, control, fear… The series talks about our basest desires and anxieties and explores them in a fictional playing field with all the flare you expect from a Shonen Jump title.

Toilet Bound Hanako Kun - AidaIro

THE ART STYLE THE ART STYLE THE ART STLYE. This series is done by a two person team (AidaIro - one for art, one for writing) and I appreciate that each brings their strength to this manga.

The coloring and art are so dreamy and whimsical, while still using strong jewel tone colors (instead of only pastels or earth colors as you might expect in a western fantasy series).

The work uses the “seven school wonders” as its base and Nene Yashiro as the protagonist who just wanted to get a date with her crush and called on Hanako’s help. Through her impulsivity, she ends up under a mermaid’s curse and makes a pact with Hakano to make it more bearable, getting pulled into the carryings-on of spirits around the school.

The art/story combo is engaging, dynamic, and emotional. There’s a lot of hilarious face expressions in this manga as well and little visual gags/jokes that make it fun to read. The series started in 2014 and is still ongoing!

The Way of the Househusband — Kosuke Oono

a former yakuza member marries a designer and becomes a stay at home househusband. Hijinks ensue. Add in his former gang friend Masa and their cat Gin and you have a recipe for domestic comedy.

I’ve genuinely laughed out loud so many times reading this manga. The chapters are pretty short and are good when you need a little break to not stare at a screen. It’s another good comfort manga when you need something low intensity.

Dorohedoro -- Q Hayashida

I have to admit I found this one because of the anime MAPPA did, but I immediately explored the manga and mud and sludge art book. Q Hayashida trained in fine arts before becoming a mangaka and it shows through the quality of her work.

From the heavily detailed manga panels, to the mixed media covers, and bonus comics done in color, the world is rendered in a blend of gritty realism and surreal fantasy.

Dorohedoro is one of the most unique pieces of worldbuilding I’ve encountered, with the smoke magic system, use of doors for traveling between Hole and the sorcerers world, as well as including devils in the lore.

Again, characters are a big draw of the series, but the art is just mind blowing to me as an artist, knowing the level of craft she put into them. I still flip through the artbook for inspiration when I’m feeling drained.

I haven’t finished all of the manga, but I’m slowly collecting the volumes (some are out of print). But I believe all the pdfs are up on archive.org (also please keep in mind there is an Adult Only/18+ content warning on this manga as there is gore and some nudity)

Blue Period — Tsubasa Yamaguchi

I started collecting this when they released volume 1 and just kept collecting. If you’re an artist at all or appreciate art, this is a series for you. It describes the struggles of finding your voice as an artist so deeply and you will feel understood and seen.

There are quite a few characters in the series, so I suggest looking at the wiki for this one to keep everyone straight. I also recommend watching the anime, as the colors and voices help distinguish the characters further.

The art history references in the chapter art makes this a scavenger hunt for art nerds and the messages of self searching, acceptance, and discovery are something anyone can relate to. (edit: I looked up the series more and it's another woman author!! :D )

The Case Study of Vanitas — Jun Mochizuki

Another I started collecting because of the anime, but it’s SO so beautiful (Arakawa sensei even gave a recommendation inside the front cover of volume 1!)

Also!!! Another woman author!! I’m so happy to give lots of women author recs. If you like gothic romantic vampire dramas set in alt history steampunk Paris with a dash of horror, then this is for you.

Bisexual vibes from literally all of the main 4 (Noe, Vanitas, Dominique, Jeanne). Some moments of sensuality, but it never goes into overtly sexual, making it more accessible for teen readers.

Her watercolors are instantly recognizable and stunningly gorgeous. Noe’s delight in the world is balanced by Vanitas’ grumpier realism. Also, the concept of a vampire that can read memories through blood blew my mind. Definitely recommend.

Special mentions:

Yotsuba&! (a classic first manga for kids. Heartwarming. Funny. Adorable)

Skull Face Bookseller Honda-san (also a good anime. Only 4 volumes. All the crazy things that happen in a bookstore/publishing. Funny and a great autobiography by the author Honda)

Kaiju No. 8 (an up and coming Shonen Jump that’s already slated for an anime!!!! Kaiju battle action + a 32 year old protag that had an accident while working and can now turn into a Kaiju >:D Monster lovers rejoice)

I also have a few singles of older shojo manga that I’m getting into recently like Cardcaptor Sakura, Sailor Moon, Kitchen Princess, Host Club!

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kristallioness · 3 years

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2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019

*arrives a month late*... Happy 2021 to all of you, my dear followers! *raises a glass* It seems that my tendency to finish my artwork or personal posts on time has only gotten worse over time (I blame work *lol*). Oh well, better late than never, since there are things I would still like to take with me from this extraordinary year of 2020.

It is cringeworthy that I have two huge red X-s this year. But after I'd put these puzzle pieces together, I remembered far too well what was going on in my (work) life at the time, so it's completely understandable why I didn't have the time nor the energy to draw at all during those two months.

What were those typical statistics that I wrote about again to compare the years? *goes to read last year's post*.. Oh, right! In 2020, I managed to finish 3 full digital drawings (from the months of April, July and December) as well as work on several sketches. I wrote 28,154 words worth of fanfiction (oohh, that's a lot better than previous year), plus 3,126 words in English (I dare say I wrote an equal amount in Estonian) for the prompts I got during UYLD (making the total 31,280 words, which is quite impressive!).

I finished reading the 1st Kyoshi novel in the evening of the 20th and slightly past midnight on the 21st December (barely before the holidays, but I set this goal for myself and I did it!). Am already looking forward to starting with the 2nd part some time this year. Besides that, I ordered and received all the other new Avatar books that came out (3rd part of "Ruins of the Empire", "Katara and the Pirate's Silver", "Legacy of the Fire Nation") as well as BOTH Avatar series DVD sets (I still can't believe I found these on sale on some random online store in Estonia, but these are now among my most prized possessions!).

I finally started my Avatar rewatch last January, but merely got to the Ba Sing Se episodes in Book 2 (I need to continue with "The Earth King") and now it's been 5 YEARS since I last saw Korra. Reading through my journal personal posts from last year, I know far too well that it's not about rushing through it as fast as possible. Instead, I should enjoy the ride and continue watching the episodes when I'm well rested and in the right mood. That way I'll end up feeling much more at peace.

As for the entire year as a whole? I don't think anyone in this world of ours was prepared for the way this decade would begin - with an uncontrollable pandemic, the virus of which is randomly attacking and threatening to wipe out the weakest amongst us. If any of you (or even if you know someone who) have lost a loved one to this plague, there is not much else I can offer but my sincerest condolences! Me, my family, friends and colleagues seem to have managed to avoid catching it so far. *spits 3 x over her shoulder*

I had such high hopes for this year in so many ways. Event-wise I was looking forward to watching the Eurovision Song Contest in May (where Uku Suviste was supposed to represent Estonia for the 1st time ever after so many unfortunate failures to get selected as the winner of our local competition), the European Football Championships in June (asking my colleagues which countries they support, perhaps make fun bets / guesses with them to see whose team would win the matches), the Tokyo Olympic Games in July-August, the President of Estonia (Mrs. Kersti Kaljulaid) coming to visit my hometown to celebrate our Victory Day by taking part in the parade together with the Defence Forces (after 15 years *sigh*)...

I will always remember my last big event, which took place when life used to be "normal", so to say. It was the 102nd anniversary of Estonia on the 24th of February, when I took part of all the most important celebrations in Tallinn on our Independence Day, FULL-TIME (whenever I scroll through my Facebook timeline, I see the photos I uploaded of that day, my heart melts and I smile fondly). But the day after that.. utter hell broke loose. We had our first infected person in the country.

I will also remember the last day I went to work in "normal" conditions. Friday, the 13th of March (typically my lucky day-number combination): I missed the tram I wanted to get on in the morning, at work my team received great news that one of our colleague's family had grown bigger by a new tiny member the day before, we had our last team lunch together, we discussed the safety measures that we should take and joked about what might happen next week, I took the bus home instead of the tram (as the tram's route came from the airport and that place was considered to be more dangerous and with a higher risk of catching this virus).. It was another 2.5 weeks later by then (since the 25th of February) - Estonia (along with the rest of Europe) went into full lockdown.

The beginning was frightening and people were on edge, nobody really knew what to do nor what was gonna happen next. But in time, things began to shake into place and everybody developed a comfortable routine for remote work, including figuring out how to get everyday things done (such as grocery shopping). I found solace in taking photographs of various beautiful bird species, who began to fly around and serenaded me during spring, visiting the trees around my "nest" i.e. rented apartment (with a pair of them ACTUALLY building a nest in the chestnut tree right beside my window, thus turning me into a protective godmother of their chicks).

To be honest, I was awestruck by the positive / surprising aftermath of this lockdown: how the world / environment began to heal itself from the pollution that was normally caused by humans. I was taken aback by how dead silent our usually loud capital became in my neighbourhood (I could only hear trams passing by my house according to their schedules, practically no cars whatsoever, streets were empty of people.. absolute silence).

By May-June, things started to look up in Estonia (as well as the rest of Europe) and people were allowed to start travelling / moving around more freely. During my vacation in July, I managed to go to my last (open air) event (for the rest of the year) under these new "corona" conditions and ended up having a blast at the Open Farm Days in my home county for the first time.

Our country's shining moment came during the first week of September, when we hosted the first ever Rally Estonia of the World Rally Championship (WRC), where our very own Ott Tänak and Martin Järveoja won. The event was so well organized and successful that nobody caught the virus nor did the spectators / participants spread it to others, which surely must've helped in ensuring us a spot in the WRC calendar for 2021 as well.

The remainder of the year was rather dull, with the exception of the US Presidential elections in November, when we were all holding our breaths that Joe Biden would win (congratulations, my American friends!). This eventually led to the painful downfall of THE WORST government the Republic of Estonia has ever had, and to the rise of our first female Prime Minister, Kaja Kallas (both happening in January 2021, I couldn't believe it all spiralled so soon, ha-ha!).

Anyways, during the last 4 months, work was very stressful and driving me nuts, so badly that when I eventually went on vacation before Christmas, I had a slight anxiety disorder that wouldn't let me relax for several days (luckily it went away just as quickly once I began to take it easy and managed to get some proper rest / sleep).

In hindsight, I kind of get this weird feeling as if I saw this whole thing coming, given how actively I was living my life throughout 2019. My final year of the 2010's was so full of important events and personal achievements. It's almost as if something mysterious inside was driving me, telling me to visit all the places and do all the things I wanted to do, cause I wouldn't have this sort of a chance again for a very long time.

This must be the main reason why I am thankful for 2020 for going the way it did. Sure, I'm disappointed that a lot of events were cancelled, that so many people have had to leave this world so soon due to this unpredictable disease.. But I think there are so many lessons to take from what came out of all of this. I believe the world needed some sort of a restart or break, given in what direction we were headed (politically, economically, environmentally, socially etc.). I'm just sorry it's had to come with such a high price of innocent lives.

I have even higher hopes for 2021, given how amazingly January has already passed for me and my country, and what is to come in my hometown in February. Let's take the lessons learned from 2020 with us and keep on heading back towards the "normal" lifestyle we used to know. Except this time, let's improve our ways, put all the hatred behind us, be more considerate, keep a distance, stay safe, but still try to make the world a better place for everyone. Thank you so much for reading, for remaining by my side, and for your support and love throughout the years, my friends! I hope to see you all alive and healthy at the end of the white metal ox year of 2021! *virtual hugs*

#personal #shards of Kristal

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indig0tea · 3 years

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Final 2020 Update: 2021 Goals!!

Cross posting from my devART

Also links to all my alts and shit will be at the end of the post if you need them!

So some of these may be unrealistic due to my struggles with ADHD/Depression Combo but. I wanted to get these down somewhere so you guys can see them and be aware..

Please note, my executive functioning abilities are absolutely Butchered on the regular by my ADHD alone, and the various stressors of 2020 have absolutely taken anything else I might have had in that department and tossed it out the window.

Something something something, financial stressors outside of my control sends me into shut down mode and I can't do anything productive or even fun until it's handled, but because I'm not doing anything productive, I'm not making any money, and the stressors gets worse and worse and it just ends up in a horrible cycle where I constantly want to die because I'm not able to create anything to relieve the stress! Which is why you've all seen... pretty much a standstill on my productivity save one or two pieces a month if I'm lucky

That said, I'm going to start trying (hopefully with some outside help/accountability to keep me on track while I'm unmedicated) to put a system in place that doesn't make me constantly want to die while like. maybe actually getting stuff done! So I'm making some optimistic goals for 2021 regarding both my art and ability to make money, so here goes!

I'm breaking this down into 3 parts:

Changes to expect regarding my social media, commissions in general, posting, etc;

Overall Goals for 2021;

and Goals for January specifically.

Changes to expect going forward from here:

I'm going to be making some changes regarding my social media accounts, including this one, mostly concerning when, where, and how I'm posting.

I am also going to be making some changes to my commission policies, prices, and payments in the coming year, namely:

Lastly, I will be making some changes to my art discord server!

Moving forward, I am going to be MOST active on my twitter and tumblr accounts. They're just easier for me to maintain in general, and although I hate twitter's formatting, it's just easier and faster, and frankly after deviantART and Instagram fucked with their websites/algorithms, it just makes the most sense for me as an artist.

I'm also going to be making an effort to make scheduled cross-posts on all my accounts. In the past, I've been really irregular about when and where I post things (most things got posted to my old tumblr account but never here, i rarely remember to post to instagram, etc).

This is going to include commission slots, finished piece dumps, etc.

I will also be making an effort to semi-regularly post sketch dumps, both digitial and traditional. I am also considering at this time offering a monthly digital download of my sketch collections, though I am undecided as I'm not really sure how many people would be interested.

Increasing commissions prices to reflect time spent working on specific commission types, as well as my personal cost of living.

Planning and announcing commission slots in advance.

Taking and finishing regular commissions to cover living expenses on a monthly basis

Payments will be exclusively through paypal invoice, and will be broken up in halves: first half will be taken up front after I have started and given proof of start (base sketch), the second half will be paid after completion, with WIPS given between first and second payment. Fully completed art will be given after receipt of second half. This is both for my personal protection as an artist, as well as for the comfort of the commissioner as my completion time can sometimes be long due to my ADHD/executive dysfunction.

Moving forward into 2020, my discord will be SFW, but 18+ only. This is a personal comfort thing. I'm 25 years old now, and just really don't want to spend time hanging out with teenagers.

I'm also going to start trying to schedule art streams again! Since this is the only place I can live stream due to my art computer's limitations, it just makes sense to like. Schedule them so more people are able to attend. I haven't decided exactly how that's going to look, but once I have I'm going to make an announcement and formatting guide somewhere for people to see so they can make an informed decision about joining the server.

I will also be regularly posting in the server again. This may or may not be cross posts from twitter and such, we'll see, but I DO plan on being more active there since it's been kind of dead.

I may also reformat the whole server again. We'll see!

Goals for 2021

Regular Adopt Sets -- 2-3 per month. Size, price, and number in set will be decided on case by case basis.

I'll be doing a monthly prompt for myself as well. This is just to get me back in the habit of creating things I like for myself to just feel... less bad about my art in general, and about making art. Also it'll be good for my artistic development i think?

Keeping a monthly sketchbook for warm-ups and in-between pieces. May be offered as a paid download at the end of the month, we'll see.

Might start a patreon? This is EXTREMELY dependent on what my userbase looks like. Tiers and rewards to be decided at a later date

Regular traditional sketches + scan and upload of said sketches. May also be offered in the monthly sketchbook.

Draw more self portraits & self-expression pieces! I don't know if any of yall realize how repressed I've been in the last year without therapy, and I did't either until I forced myself to pursue a vent piece earlier this month, and then felt immensely better afterward so. Going to start doing that! Maybe I'll feel better weee

Regular posting to social media! (see changes above)

Drawing less fantrolls bc I'm just bleh about them lately, drawing more original content!

Drawing fancontent that ISN'T homestuck? We'll see but I'd like to. I don't usually draw fan art bc like. Idk in my mind I don't feel like my interpretation of things is important or cool and I think thats a confidence thing and I'd like to change that so! I'm gonna start making more fan content.

Draw more full illustrations & backgrounds in general because I actually enjoy doing them it turns out?

Practice painting more !! Both traditionally and digitally....

Goals for January 2021

Finish at LEAST 1/4 of my art queue. I'm shooting for half, really, because fully completing it might actually kill me but! We'll see! Maybe I'll surprise myself. But I'm setting the goal low to keep my mental health problems in mind.

Finish and release the base set i've been working on, on and off. It's an homage to the old pixel doll days of 2009-2012, and the full sheet will be free to use (with stipulations, as I have some people blocked that I don't want using it). BUT! There will also be a mix and match .psd that will be pay to use (it'll be pay to use a, bc it'll be huge, and b, bc the edits to make it mix and match results in like 6 seperate bases in general so.... yeah. pay to use)

Finish the pay-to-use base pack i started in june (i may scrap and restart though, we'll see)

Possibly release all old p2u bases of mine in one pack on gumroad? price tbd but it will include old iterations as well as unreleased remakes.

Making some dainty-specific bases! One will be f2u, one will be p2u.

I have a whole dainty YCH set for january! I just have to finish the example... (:

Perhaps I'll be announcing a collaborative project later in the month! It depends on where each of us are at, at the time! We'll see! (: You should be excited though! It'll be a ton of fun!

EXTERNAL LINKS

Instagram

Twitter

Tumblr

deviantART

Discord server

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eallisnwndrlnd · 3 years

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A Year Like No Other

Well this year certainly made quite an impact in history where no matter where one lived in the world, there was no way they were not affected by one if not many surprises 2020 decided throw our way.

I, like many, saw 2020 as a fresh start. A reset button for a new decade.

But alas, 2020 had other plans.

To annihilate all ours.

My plan, after a year of finalizing documents after graduation and marking off moving checklists, was to have us moved back to my hometown of Los Angeles, California.

We delayed the flight to May rather than February due to the sudden eruption of the Taal volcano. We were holed up in our house due to air quality and forced to wear masks to protect ourselves as travel was limited and flights were canceled for weeks.

All the while, knowledge of an unknown virus was already impacting China. We knew it was only a matter of time before it would reach us and the rest of the world. Little did we know how much wreckage Covid19 would leave in its wake as it traveled to every country and wreaked havoc across the world. It disturbed our normal lives. The way we lived daily was forever changed. Some more than others as people lost jobs, homes, family and friends to this pandemic.

As Covid19 barely rose to the forefront of a world crisis, my mother and I were packing for our move back stateside by May. I was aware of the seriousness of the virus in January as Taiwan and other Asian countries prepared for a possible repeat of the the last SARs outbreak. As the travel limits that stemmed from Taal died away and the alert level was lowered, we retained our mask wearing as we moved about metro Manila and back to Batangas.

Eventually Philippines began to see its first cases of Covid19 in February. The number of cases slowly increased but not quite as widespread as how it tore through my home country, the U.S. I watched the news, frustrated, horrified and embarrassed at how poorly my country decided to handle the virus.

By March 15, the Philippines was in full lockdown under level ECQ which stood for Enhanced Community Quarantine. Many strict guidelines went into place to mitigate the growing cases and death toll. Travel bans and limits were given for domestic and foreign travel. Travel within provinces and cities were limited to essential workers only. Transportation was completely shuttered from tricycles, jeepneys, buses, ferries, trains, etc, making commute for essential workers a daily nightmare. Nonessential businesses, schools and churches were forced to shut down for the time being. The only businesses allowed to continue were government offices at limited capacity, grocery stores and pharmacies, as well as wet markets but also limited capacity. Only those between the ages of 21 to 61 were allowed to leave their house. (This led to having a very cranky mother for over two months straight)

To enter any place of business people were expected to wear a face mask at all times. A guideline that difficult for some in the beginning only due to a shortage of face masks that stemmed from the Taal eruption and when the Philippines initially sent their supply to China in the beginning of the pandemic. About a few weeks later the masks were expected to be worn as soon as one left their house with a hefty fine of P5,000 ($100) if caught without one or a punishment of 6 months in prison. At entrances every person was checked for their temperature. As cases climbed and hospitals were heavily burdened, the guidelines became stricter by enforcing a quarantine pass that was given to each household where only one member of the household that met the age restrictions, was allowed to go out for only essentials. (This role of course went to me) For about two months we were assigned only one day out of the week we were allowed to go out for shopping for what we needed. (I was assigned Tuesdays.) If anyone was caught without their quarantine pass or going out on a different day they were assigned they risked the same punishment as not wearing a mask. (This meant heavy lifting of groceries and multiple trips in one day whilst walking for 5-13 miles on a given day.) After a while our province along with other provinces met the requirements to downgrade our ECQ to Modified ECQ, then to GCQ (which level we currently are still in since June or July) The quarantine pass was changed to being needed only during the week to not needed at all. (Although I still carry it just in case due to guidelines changing every two weeks or so.) Under GCQ, all businesses were allowed to open but with strict enforcement of guidelines and social distancing with restaurants at 50% capacity. Most businesses and all transportation require wearing full face shields aside from face masks. (This becomes a frustrating addition when my shield starts to fog and I can't freaking see) Schools have remained shuttered and gone remote. Movie theaters have yet to open at least that I'm aware of. Places of worship have opened at very limited capacity but have been shuttered again from time to time. Liquor bans were given during multiple periods of the pandemic.

Eventually our flight was canceled in May. Even if it hadn't been we would have canceled it ourselves since travel between cities and provinces were limited to essential personnel only for around two months and more in other areas. As well as the fact that by that time, U.S. was the most negatively affected with growing cases and deaths with many people becoming difficult tempermental raging toddlers in defying guidelines and refusing to wear a mask. We just did not feel it was safe to go back home any time soon. So here we are still where we were last year with only a non definite plan to move back stateside set in April. I hesitate to say that with any confidence whatsoever.

This year was a year of losses for many. So many of my friends and family have lost someone they knew and were dear to them. My dad's brother, uncle Rick, passed away mid year. I lost my nearly four year old cat, my fur baby, Gandalf "the Grey Whitewalker" only a month ago.

Every time I walk to the backyard to our outhouse, I am constantly reminded of him following me and keeping me company. Every time I look at my window near my bed, I remember him meowing at me to feed him. And every time I look out the front window, I see his little grave marker in our yard. He was my first real pet out of multiple fishes, a hamster, a duck, chickens, a mouse, and a turtle that I had the longest and the only pet I had in my adult years. I didn't realize how hard his loss was going to hit me until it did. The idea of him moving on to furry heaven left me very little to no comfort as I am not a person of faith. I just had to tell myself that it was his time to go and that I was blessed with the time that allowed him to be with me as my furry friend, companion, and confidant who followed my every move and meowed mama (as I taught him) when he wanted something. I will miss Gandalf very much.

With the pandemic holding its place as the suckiest thing to happen this year (...this century), other memorable events happened that held significant importance here and around the world.

Aside from the Taal eruption in January, Philippines was met with natural disasters one after another from multiple earthquakes to an onslaught of disastrous typhoons. Just recently on the morning of Christmas day, my province was hit with a 6.3 magnitude earthquake. Thankfully it didn't cause any damages in our immediate area.

Other disasters hitting other countries and multiple wildfires that took a major toll on my homestate. One fire in particular that threatened the home of my dad, step mom and where my sister was living, drew my attention for weeks. Thankfully them, the house and their area remained safe.

As political issues arose here which created tension and conflict, so did it in the U.S. and other countries.

Since I follow multiple global news media outlets, I was kept abreast of the increasing issues in not only my home country but many others. Some mirroring what was occurring in the states like police brutality, riots, authoritarian tendencies among its leaders.

I awaited with bated breath for the U.S. elections results along with much of the world.

At least for that moment, I, like many others, allowed a heavy sigh of relief when the final result was announced.

One silver lining I could find in an otherwise shity year.

Take all that aside, what else did I manage to accomplish with limited movement, limited funds, and limited access...

My freelance work dried up to nada so I put back my energy to the things I could do.

I studied a bit more of Korean.

Started vlogging again.

Submitted more of my photography into contests which garnered a few live digital exhibitions in a few galleries in different countries.

Began drawing and painting after so many years.

Delved into more current events and became more connected and acquainted with other foreign news outlets that far exceeded the quality of many of my country's national news outlets. (This came from my growing disappointment at how my country's news outlets covered the Taal eruption and the pandemic early on)

Got rid of more of my things and organized what will stay here and what I'm taking with me to the states.

Cooked and baked more and added newly learned menus into my forte.

Found joy and comfort in walking for miles in extremely hot weather.

Kdrama and Cdrama binged watched like never before.

There are of course many more things I didn't accomplish that I would have liked to but either couldn't do or couldn't bring myself to bother to do.

Travel. Cuz pandemic guidelines and pera.

Move. Cuz pandemic, and my home city is doing a piss poor job in dealing with it so we're stuck here where I'm not legally allowed to obtain work until my country and the rest of the world minus a few exceptions (I.e. Taiwan, New Zealand, etc) get their shit together.

Get new job. See above.

Lose weight. Cuz I ate through our pandemic food supply like a starved hippo, baked my fat ass to oblivion, and decided to wait until the possible apocalypse happens before I bother to put any effort into excercise. Cuz if the world's gonna end and the choice is between cookies and ab crunches...I'm gonna choose cookies. And ice cream. And cake. And garlic buttered chicken. Might as well go with a BIG FAT BANG and a smile on my face.

Now 2020 is finally coming to an end.

The world with it. A few hours will tell.

But if 2021 manages to happen in two hours and we're all still alive I'm going into the new year with cautious anticipation.

Do I think that everything will suddenly come up roses once the clock strikes 12?

I'm not delusional.

We're still deeply into a dangerous and deadly pandemic now with a mutated version slowly making its rounds across the globe. Millions are still in hospitals with covid. Millions are jobless. Millions are homeless. Millions have lost that and more.

Sure we have a vaccine but with knowing that less than half the world will have access or being willing participants...it most likely will have little effect on the outcome.

Our politicians and governments are inept, corrupt, greedy, insane, just plain stupid to see any real change any time soon. Significant change takes time and a cohesive willingness to make those changes.

Still awaiting for the inauguration of my country's new president or the fall of its democracy once and for all this coming January. Frankly could go either way the way it's been going over there.

As for me and my plans for 2021.

Try to make the plans I made in 2020 happen.

Again I say this with hesitant confidence that I can make it happen. Frankly life has a way of turning those plans into merely contrived goals on a useless resolution.

I meet this new year with hope but prepared for whatever may come be it good or bad.

There's no use to be anxious about not being able to accomplish a list of goals I may have if life has other plans.

I can just call it detours.

Eventually I know whatever goals I want to accomplish, one way or another depending on my willingness to make it happen even if it doesn't meet a set timeline, I'll get it done.

If it takes me as long as it took me to finally graduate college or longer to check off those goals then so be it as long as I manage to find some little moments of happiness and snippets of accomplishments along the way.

Here's to 2021 being an improvement over the last.

May everyone (minus a few people I think of with detestation) have a Happy, healthy, safe, prosperous New Year.

May the world be allowed to heal.

May this pandemic go away.

May the year 2020 go frak itself.

#new year #new years resolution #life goals #life #goals #2020 #fuck 2020 #2021goals

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gibelwho · 3 years

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Films of 2020

So...2020 was quite the year. Not only did we go through a global pandemic and a national failing to control it, which shut down life for an entire year and counting, but my husband and I also got pregnant (we found out the first week of lockdown), so our world went upside down in an instant. During quarantine, we did end up watching a lot of movies and TV (I mean...what else was there to do when we couldn’t leave the house?!). We got into a groove watching Star Trek: The Next Generation (my husband’s first time viewing), we finally finished The Good Place, and we randomly watched a lot of 80s movies. We didn’t, however, watch much of the films that were released in 2020 itself. I think perhaps we retreated to our comfort content while we were living in very uncomfortable times - the virus killing thousands of Americans, the summer of protests over George Floyd’s brutal murder (along with so many other Black Americans), nervously awaitng the Election results to see if we would rise up out of the simmering anxiety that was living in Donald Trump’s America. If that wasn’t a time for streaming comfort material, I don’t know what is.

I do know that there were some amazing films released in 2020. As many studio and blockbuster film release dates were pushed back (some multiple times) with the hope that 2021 will bring the ability for us all to gather back in theaters once again - this gave space to smaller films, indie films, more diverse films to take center stage. Many of these movies feature or were creatively driven by women or persons of color; one wonders what the landscape of cinema in a “normal” 2020 would have looked like, but certainly what emerged was compelling work that was given the chance to shine in a less crowded spotlight.

Once our daughter was born at the end of the year...I realized that watching films will now happen in chunks (if it happens at all). Life has certainly changed from top to bottom and I have discovered that being intentional about utilizing my time (gotta use her naps effectively!) has a whole new meaning. I know that when I return back to work full time, this will become even more difficult to catch up on current films. I am lucky to have family around who are willing to babysit our cute little girl - so maybe when we are fully vaccinated and we feel comfortable going to the movies, we can visit our local theater to catch a flick every now and then.

Usually this post goes up around the Academy Awards, after a last minute blitz to watch as many nominated films as possible. This year, with the deadline pushed back and the Oscars not even broadcast until the end of April, one would think that we would have ample time to fit in all of the films, but as of this writing, I have only screened a total of three movies that were released in the year 2020. Rather than ranking (since I don’t even have 5 tallied) I will jot down a few thoughts on each film. With that, let’s leave 2020 in the dust and hope for a better 2021.

Jingle Jangle: A Christmas Journey (November 2020)

My husband really wanted to watch this movie the minute it came out, but I made him wait until after Thanksgiving (when Christmas time can officially begin - you gotta draw the line somewhere, folks!) With slick production value, fun original songs, and featuring a Black cast, Jingle Jangle certainly aimed to be a new Christmas classic. I found the story and characters to cut corners and rely on formulaic stereotypes rather than slowing down to have a deeper story. Having said that - it was so fantastic to see Black characters in Victorian outfits and taking center stage in a Christmas tale.

Soul (December 2020)

This was our first movie to watch with our newborn child - and we quickly discovered that films will be watched in portions, with breaks to address her needs (whether feeding, diaper, or sleeping/waking). Soul felt like a typical Pixar movie - in that it was unique, authentic, and dealing with some deep issues - this story focusing not only on human being’s souls and the concept of purpose, but also a slice of the Black experience in America, specifically NYC, and on jazz, utilizing the most exquisite talents of Jon Batiste. The musical form is not only celebrated, but also tied in to the themes of the film. I was blown away by the advancement of digital animation - so many details were captured in this film, including the variety of humans down on Earth. Pete Doctor is my favorite director in the Pixar system because he deals with universal themes that are delivered through unique stories and unforgettable characters.

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (September 2020)

Aaron Sorkin writing and directing a film that centers around history and politics seems to be crafted just for my interests. Writing for an ensemble is difficult, but perhaps what Sorkin does best - snappy dialogue that whips between players and forces the audience to fully engage. Add to this some stellar performances, notably from Sasha Baron Cohen and also Eddie Redmayne and a villainous Frank Langella. Sorkin does not tell the tale in a linear fashion, but intercuts between present, past, court testimony, and outside meetings in order to unveil the story of the riot and the trial one layer at a time. As all good historical (based on a true story) fiction does - this film made me want to read up on the real life events, just perfect for my late night feeding sessions with the baby.

#jingle jangle #soul #the trial of the chicago 7 #pixar #netflix

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entergamingxp · 4 years

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Who gets to write video game history? • Eurogamer.net

In Spring 2016, I took part in a rather unusual archaeological dig. There was no dirt, no trowelling – in fact the excavation didn’t even take place outside. It was just me, in my childhood bedroom, digging through old copies of Official Nintendo Magazine and realising that I could map my childhood obsession with video games from the stacks hidden in my bookshelf. Opening up an issue from February 2006 I found a feature lauding the mysterious new ‘Nintendo Revolution’ console and a caption jibing “Good looks and great to play with. Revolution sounds like our ideal girl.” It’s a window into a different time. 14 years later and some things have changed- we didn’t get a Revolution, we got a Wii. I’ve grown up. Games journalism (for the most part) has too.

Back in 2016 someone else was also rifling through some old stuff in their house, but their discovery would draw more attention. Dan Tiebold found the last known existing Nintendo PlayStation prototype in his dad Terry’s attic. The console represents a turning point for the games industry; Nintendo and Sony were to collaborate on an add-on to the SNES. Nintendo infamously snubbed Sony in 1991 when it announced it had instead made a deal with Phillips. Sony would go on to release its own console, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Fast forward to 2020 and the Nintendo PlayStation was once again in the limelight as Terry Diebold put his up for auction. On March 6th, Greg McLemore paid $380,000 in total to get his hands on a piece of hardware that had been touted as priceless. As an archaeologist, I’m familiar with the buzz that can surround individual artefacts, and the cognitive dissonance on display in auction houses putting the hammer down on ‘priceless’ objects to the highest bidder. While I’ve been intrigued by the billing of the Nintendo PlayStation as a fable turned to fortune, I wondered what video game historians and preservationists made of the furore surrounding it.

Frank Cifaldi, founder of the Videogame History Foundation, succinctly describes the piece as a “view into an alternate timeline.” Frank has been working in games preservation for almost twenty years and founded the VHF after identifying the gaps in the field that needed to be filled. “Things like working with games developers to preserve their original source code, and a library of complete video game magazines,” Cifaldi explained to me over Skype, reminding me that my trove of magazines is tiny compared to the thousands he’s carefully collected. When I ask him about the historical value of the Nintendo PlayStation, he understands that people want to see it preserved but tells me “I don’t think historians can extract more stories out of this physical object than they already have.” The console has been photographed and analysed to the point that it’s been bled dry of new data. Given Cifaldi describes his work on video game preservation as “stopping the bleeding rather than re-inventing the wheel,” it’s not surprising he doesn’t consider the Nintendo PlayStation as a top priority for preservation.

The Nintendo PlayStation

Like Cifaldi, video game historian Carly A. Kocurek believes that “ephemera like magazines, flyers, promotional merchandise are profoundly important… A lot of my work is going through tens of thousands of pages of magazines. It’s extremely glamorous, I assure you.” Kocurek is an associate professor of digital humanities and media studies at Illinois Tech, and author of the book Coin-Operated Americans: Rebooting Boyhood at the Video Game Arcade. A key argument of the book is that the gendering of video games as a masculine pursuit was never inevitable, but was shaped by young boys’ greater access to public gaming in arcades, the association of video games with competitive male-dominated sports, and the idea that technological skill was a male attribute. I wondered if the hype surrounding the auction of the Nintendo PlayStation, itself a public game for the prize of influencing video game history, reflected the techno-masculine competitiveness discussed in Kocurek’s book. “On the one hand, I’m glad people are excited about video game history,” she continues, “on the other hand, I think about what half a million dollars would mean to any of the institutions really doing the hard work of preserving games.”

The Videogame History Foundation is one such institution. Cifaldi pointed out that the money spent on the Nintendo PlayStation amounts to a third of the VHF’s annual revenue. Fundraising is his main priority going forward. “We’ve digitised 10,000 optical disks and old press kits. By our own estimate we need two years to catalogue what we just have now.” New projects are constantly popping up. Cifaldi recently worked with the family of a programmer who had sadly passed away and left boxes of degrading floppy disks that needed urgent attention. This kind of work can involve collaboration with other games heritage institutions, like the Strong Museum of Play.

While the Nintendo PlayStation may have dominated recent video game history discourse, there is a diverse range of work going on that isn’t just concerned with the legacy of big brands. “I’m really excited by the work a lot of researchers are doing,” Kocurek elaborated. “Whitney Pow’s research on work by transgender game developers is just beautiful. Adrienne Shaw’s LGBTQ Game Archive has turned up so many fascinating things-someone should give that project half a million.” Furthermore, TreAndrea Russworm and Samantha Blackmon have recently published a piece in a special issue that edited about video game history as black feminist mixtape. Hearing her and Cifaldi cite different collaborators and researchers makes it clear that video game history can’t and shouldn’t only be the purview of a narrow group of people who can afford to buy themselves into it.

While it’s easy to put prestige pieces like the Nintendo PlayStation on a pedestal, modest personal video game histories are important. When I asked Frank Cifaldi how he felt about becoming a part of video game history himself he admitted to not having saved articles from his time as a journalist at 1UP. “I finally started a box in our archives that’s our company archives. When we’ve hand-made some swag for a little retro show I try to keep at least one or two examples.” When we make the effort to preserve something, it shows that we value it and can envision it being valued in the future.

Video game hardware and software preservation poses a host of problems in terms of proprietary software, obsolescence, media forms subject to disk rot and legal issues with emulation software. The analogue record of games culture has a key part to play in video games history because it’s actually more durable. As Kocurek elaborated, “Our hope is that we get robust study and documentation before the games decay beyond playability. But, paper is much more robust. We’ll have magazines and flyers for a long, long time, and they’re so important.”

This brings me back to those dusty magazines I mentioned earlier. They’re important as a source on gaming in the mid-00s. They’re also a memento on how I felt about games as a 13-year-old. Austin Walker, co-founder of Waypoint and Friends at the Table, wrote a piece for ROMChip called “The History of Games Could Be a History of What Play Felt Like.” He argues that blogs, let’s plays and guides are key for capturing what play actually means to people, which is a crucial aspect of their history. After all, a game can have very different connotations in different contexts, as Carly explained to me: “Children playing in grade school chess tournaments in 1997, for example, are having a very different experience and doing something quite different from the experience Margaret of Anjou [Queen of England in the 15th century] had playing chess.”

I was intrigued that I had a very similar experience to Kocurek growing up with video games. In the introduction to Coin-Operated Americans, she laments how once she reached adolescence she no longer felt as comfortable gaming. As a teen when I considered myself a young woman (I’ve since come out as non-binary), I turned my back on games and the publications that made jokes about “our ideal girl.” My game magazine collection stops in 2006 because I stopped playing. If the Nintendo PlayStation points to an alternate history in which Nintendo and Sony weren’t competitors, then my collection of Official Nintendo Magazine represents an alternate personal history of gaming.

Video game history is about stories. As Frank Cifaldi says of the Videogame History Foundation, “I run a charity whose sole purpose is to make sure that people who want to tell the story of video games have access to the tools and materials that they would need to do that.” Researching video games has been my way of writing myself back into their history. You don’t need to be a white middle class cis man to have your turn. If you play games, if you make them, if you like watching them or discussing them, you’re a part of their history. Who gets to write video game history? We do.

from EnterGamingXP https://entergamingxp.com/2020/03/who-gets-to-write-video-game-history-%e2%80%a2-eurogamer-net/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=who-gets-to-write-video-game-history-%25e2%2580%25a2-eurogamer-net

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kristablogs · 4 years

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Soothing stories to take your mind off stressful things

Warning: Contains puppies. And nude Founding Fathers. (Pexel/)

2020 has been quite a year, and it’s only March. But while it’s important to pay attention to global events and follow evidence-based advice for, say, minimizing the spread of a dangerous new disease, it’s also important to find moments of peace and calm. If you’re having trouble disconnecting from the world’s stressors, take a leisurely digital stroll through these stories to amuse, relax, and distract your anxious brain.

Step one: Look at these puppies

We’re not pulling any punches here, folks. Our first story to clear away your mental cobwebs is an investigation into corgi mixes—specifically, why they look like corgis disguised as other dogs. Here are the genetics behind their incorgnito appearance (with plenty of adorable pictures, of course).

Explore the soothing science of ASMR

The internet-fueled phenomenon known as ASMR is a divisive topic. Some fanatics say the sounds (and sometimes even the sights) of ASMR send them into a trancelike state of inner peace, and many say ASMR videos give them shivers of pleasure. But others report an enraging response to the same stimuli.

Which camp do you fall into? The answer might well be... both. Find out more in our recent feature on ASMR and its dark cousin, misophonia. If you’d prefer an auditory exploration of the topic, check out our podcast episode below. And you can see and hear a chemistry-powered example for yourself right here.

Stop to think about how beautiful bugs can be

We typically think of insects as pests or pestilences, carrying disease or gnawing their way through our gardens before we can get a bite. But they’re also gorgeous creatures. Photographer Levon Biss shows them off in these highly-detailed images—each specimen required thousands of individual shots, which he stitched together over the course of several weeks. The results are nothing short of stunning.

Consider the evolutionary benefits of cuteness

Humans are literally hard-wired to find certain creatures and objects adorable and react accordingly. But why? Find out more here.

Raise a SCOBY to get a pet and a beverage all at once

Kombucha may be a trendy beverage right now, but brewing it is an ancient practice—and one you can easily do at home. PopSci’s Sandra Gutierrez recently adopted a symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast (SCOBY) of her own, and her adventures in raising the squishy creature provide a comforting introduction to making delicious tea in your own kitchen.

Try a new meditation app

Humans have been meditating for thousands of years, but we’ve only recently realized our stress-inducing smartphones have the potential to help us chill out. Find out how different apps can help you achieve mindfulness during trying times.

Read about a famous slice of pie

In the shadow of Alaska’s Kuskokwim Mountains, nestled in a valley along the banks of a winding river, there’s a town called Takotna with a population of a mere 49 hearty souls. Each March, this cozy hamlet doubles its numbers as mushers racing the Iditarod Trail come here for their mandatory 24-hour rest. On a course that traverses just under a thousand brutally cold and snowy miles from Anchorage to Nome, the racers and their dog teams have gone about a third of their journey when they reach Takotna. So what makes this place their stopover of choice? Pies. Find the recipe here.

Watch a humble slime mold predict the shape of the universe

Lowly slime molds are helping us map out the cosmos, which is weirdly calming to think about. They also have hundreds of sexes, so that’s great for them.

Make scientific illustration your chill new hobby

Spending a lot more time at home lately? That’s a great excuse to invest some time and patience into mastering (or at least reaching basic competency in) a new hobby. Scientific illustration is just the kind of multidisciplinary practice to challenge you mentally, physically, and creatively—and you might be surprised how many creatures there are to draw sitting right in your backyard (or on your fire escape). Here’s a guide to getting started.

Binge a new podcast (or four)

Now is the perfect time to catch up on nearly two years of The Weirdest Thing I Learned This Week, a hit podcast from the editors of Popular Science. With episodes on everything from the surprisingly feminist history of butter sculptures to Benjamin Franklin’s love of hanging out in the nude, we guarantee you’ll be intrigued.

If you’re already a seasoned Weirdo, you can check out the other science and tech podcasts our team loves to listen to. We’ve got a list of sci-fi podcast recommendations, too. Reality is overrated.

Watch tiny tadpoles breathe by ‘bubble sucking’

Scientists recently discovered a Pokémon-esque power called bubble sucking with help from high-speed cameras:

View this post on Instagram

🐸 Tiny tadpoles breathe by "bubble-sucking." This high-speed camera footage reveals the Pokemon-like technique for the first time. 🐸 Blowing spit bubbles might seem silly or immature, but when you’re a tiny aquatic creature just trying to catch a breath, there’s a good reason for it. Researchers at @uconn have finally cracked the timeline of a tadpole's breathing process after evolutionary biologist Kurt Schwenk noticed a splashy new behavior while watching a baby tree frog shimmy near the surface of its tank: “When it swam away it left a bubble behind.” 🐸 Schwenk and his graduate student Jackson Phillips had planned to feed the tadpoles to salamanders for an experiment, but they quickly switched course. They thought the bubble could be a clue to how young amphibians flex their developing lungs without breaching the water’s surface. 🐸 To test their idea, Schwenk and Phillips set out for the New England swamps to collect tadpoles belonging to four different species, along with spotted salamanders, diving beetles, and pulmonate snails. They also mail-ordered African clawed frogs, which were bred to have see-through skin. They then filmed each subject with high-speed monochrome cameras (capturing 30 to 1,000 frames per second) backlit with LEDs to see what was happening below the surface of the water—and the creatures’ skin. 🐸 The videos, including the above footage of a wood frog tadpole (first clip) and green frog tadpoles (second clip), were published with a recent paper in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 🐸 To read more about Schwenk and Phillips' findings, bubble-suck your way to the #linkinbio 👉 @popsci 📹: K. Shwenck and @jack.outside

A post shared by Popular Science (@popsci) on Feb 25, 2020 at 12:42pm PST

See more of this amazing ability here.

Soak your stress away with a DIY bath bomb

If you’ve got a bathtub and the ability to order some basic supplies on Amazon, you have everything you need to make yourself a veritable hoard of bath bombs. Nothing is more relaxing than surrounding yourself in warm, fizzy, pleasant-smelling waters.

Think about aliens, but in a chill way

Given all the real estate in the cosmos, astronomers generally agree there’s got to be other beings out there. PopSci’s Rob Verger recently mused on why it’s so improbable for humans to be alone in the universe—and on how we’re working to find what alien life might be keeping us company.

Gaze upon some stunning photos for a spell

From lunar halos and opera-singing fish to flying pumas and red-hot lava tongues, PopSci has plenty of brilliant images to scroll through. For something a bit sillier, check out the winners of the latest Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards. And if you’re craving extraterrestrial entertainment, get your head into the clouds with our staff’s favorite images of space.

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scootoaster · 4 years

Text

Soothing stories to take your mind off stressful things

Warning: Contains puppies. And nude Founding Fathers. (Pexel/)

Step one: Look at these puppies

Explore the soothing science of ASMR

Stop to think about how beautiful bugs can be

Consider the evolutionary benefits of cuteness

Humans are literally hard-wired to find certain creatures and objects adorable and react accordingly. But why? Find out more here.

Raise a SCOBY to get a pet and a beverage all at once

Try a new meditation app

Read about a famous slice of pie

Watch a humble slime mold predict the shape of the universe

Lowly slime molds are helping us map out the cosmos, which is weirdly calming to think about. They also have hundreds of sexes, so that’s great for them.

Make scientific illustration your chill new hobby

Binge a new podcast (or four)

Watch tiny tadpoles breathe by ‘bubble sucking’

Scientists recently discovered a Pokémon-esque power called bubble sucking with help from high-speed cameras:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Popular Science (@popsci) on Feb 25, 2020 at 12:42pm PST

See more of this amazing ability here.

Soak your stress away with a DIY bath bomb

Think about aliens, but in a chill way

Gaze upon some stunning photos for a spell

0 notes

dawnajaynes32 · 5 years

Text

James Paterson, Digital Frontiers

Developer, programmer, artist, designer. Mad scientist?

Call James Paterson what you want, but one thing’s for sure: his creativity knows no boundaries. Paterson started using Flash in early 1997, and made a career out of pushing the medium and his creations into new, exciting, and evocative territories.

He’s been a part of the web’s past and present, and will undoubtedly be a part of the digital future that’s yet to come, although it’ll happen without one of his favorite tools: Flash. In the very near future, the platform and web plugin will no longer be supported by Adobe. Like others who used Flash, Paterson has lamented the coming of the end. “I think because I grew up with it as my primary set of creative tools it was really a part of me. I had spent well over 10 years perfecting my craft with it, and had a setup that was like an extension of my mind and body. It took years to relearn everything and port as much of my world as possible to JavaScript.”

James Paterson, photo by Jonathan Chang.

Paterson’s studio, where the magic happens.

But he’s a realist too.

“Ultimately the switch to JavaScript was good and healthy… it’s a much broader medium and allowed me to take my craft to all sorts of new places.” And there’s no turning back, all for the better. Paterson has broken into new digital territories, pushing the boundaries of augmented reality (AR) with #normanvr and other digital platforms. He took time out of his busy schedule to answer some questions about AR, developer tools, the web, Flash, and a (possible) future for Flash.

VR (virtual reality) sculpting has become a major focus for Paterson. “It’s sort of a natural progression of my drawing process, popped into 3D, thanks to the hands-on-ness of VR.”

Q. Who were the Flash artists, designers, and developers you admired during the early days of Flash, and why?

In the very early days there wasn’t much going on that I could find made using Flash. There were some ultra-early Shockwave/Director sites, notably Antirom (Tomato Interactive) and Noodlebox (Danny Brown) which caught my attention in the late 90s. Then when Flash started to pick up in 1998-99 I saw a little piece of open source by praystation (Joshua Davis) that revealed how to create a “frame loop” where code could run across time. That was my very first introduction to code as a kind of living breathing thing. I’ve been thankful to Josh for that kickstart into code ever since. Some other characters from the early Flash days who influenced me hugely were Amit Pitaru, Yugo Nakamura & Erik Natzke.

Q. How would you describe what you called code as a living breathing thing and that frame loop that Joshua Davis made?

Up until that point I had only used very contained “actions” to perform a bit of control over my animations. Things like clicking buttons to stop, play and jump around through animations. The “frame loop” that I saw in Josh’s open-source showed some code sitting on frame 1, then an action on frame 2 saying “go back and play frame 1 again!” This was the first time I saw a game loop/tick/enter-frame in action and it blew my mind. Learning to code can be intimidating, and baby-stepping my way in as Flash slowly progressed to become a more full-powered development tool gave me a very comfortable on-ramp. Seeing Josh’s frame loop was where something shifted in my mind from being about simple actions triggered by discrete user events like mouse clicks, to being a fluid dynamic system that was constantly shifting and changing over time.

Q. As Flash became more and more popular, you’d see Flash used for expressive, experimental, and artistic purposes. Plenty of sites would also use Flash with the entire site needing the Flash plugin, or it would just have Flash components such as menus or images or animations. Where would you put yourself on that spectrum of Flash artwork versus Flash functional work, and why?

I primarily used flash as a personal art medium. Specifically, my area of interest was bringing drawings to life through a combination of animation and code. I would draw endlessly in my sketchbook, then pick my favorite drawings to expand into living, breathing pieces of interactive work using animation and code. This eventually matured into building custom creative tools (something I did a lot in collaboration with Amit Pitaru) and also getting into more game-like territory. The further I went down this path the more I had to study programming and take it seriously. I was continuously outgrowing my technical ability and having to pause (sometimes for years at a time) to learn more before I could continue.

The more comfortable I got with the medium and programming in general, the more I would take on contracts doing “functional” jobs as you put it. Basically I would spend as long as humanly possible making my own work, then when I was sufficiently broke I would take on commercial gigs doing more practical stuff with the skills I had developed in my personal endeavors. These commercial projects could sometimes be challenging and satisfying, but were usually just a way for me to pay the bills so I could get back to the main event: making weird personal work.

Chalk on chalkboard, from a wall in Paterson’s studio. “They are a combination of stream of consciousness/automatic drawing (a process I call psychic vomit) and plans/code for whatever I’m working on.”

A mural by Paterson in the parking lot of B-Reel Los Angeles.

Q. When you first heard about Flash being phased out, what was your reaction?

Flash was phased out slowly over a number of years, and while I could feel it happening I was still very much invested in it as a creative tool. The final blow was dealt by Steve Jobs in 2010, in his open letter Thoughts on Flash. My reaction was split down the middle. On one side, I agreed with Jobs about how inappropriate Flash was for making websites. I didn’t like Flash sites any more than the next person and was happy that they would be going the way of the Dodo.

But on the other hand, that was not what I used Flash for. For me it was my primary art tool. So with my own creative process, my reaction was one of deep sadness and loss. I had invested well over a decade developing workflows in Flash that were perfectly suited to me. I creatively grew up alongside Flash, so much so that it felt like a part of me. Once I read that letter by Jobs I knew it was totally over, and in some ways if felt like someone had come into my beloved studio, full of all my most intimate creative tools and processes, and burned the place down.

I know that sounds dramatic, but it really did feel that way at the time. I had to completely reinvent myself technically and creatively over the following half-decade, porting as much of my process to JavaScript as possible. This was a huge growth experience for me, facing that loss and then rebuilding.

Q. Are you still developing for Flash, in any way, be it with Adobe Animate CC or something else?

I occasionally animate using Adobe Animate, then drive those animations with JavaScript, but it is somewhat rare these days. It’s still a great animation tool, but I’ve moved on to other places and broadened my horizons in terms of tools and workflows.

Q. From curators I’ve spoken with, you’ve begun to work in AR and VR spaces. How are those platforms allowing you to push your visions and experiments further, and in what ways did Flash prepare you for the spaces you’re working in today?

AR and VR have been a fascinating to me ever since reading Neuromancer by William Gibson and other cyberpunk stuff as a kid. When it finally matured enough to really work, with Vive and Rift, I jumped right in. One of the main projects I’ve done in this area was to take my favorite parts of animating in Flash and create my own open source VR animation tool from scratch, called Norman. This was an incredible experience and such a fun way to carry some of the old school flash frame-by-frame lineage forward into the present. I used JavaScript to code Norman, and it runs on the web (WebVR) for Oculus Rift.

View this post on Instagram

Gonna miss you Gord #gorddownieforever

A post shared by James Paterson (@presstube) on Oct 18, 2017 at 1:05pm PDT

Q. At what point did you leave Halfempty, and when you decided to do so, what did working independently enable you to do that you had not done before?

I started Presstube in 1999 as a way to just get a fresh start after working on Halfempty for the previous few years. I had a wonderful experience working on Halfempty with Marty Spellerberg in 1997–98. He was the first person to turn me on to Flash actually! But in 1999 it felt like the right thing to do to break away and do my own thing. Halfempty was more of a magazine curating the work of many different people, and I just wanted to descend into my own creative rabbit hole.

vimeo

Q. What did getting published mean to you, especially being in such great company in the book New Masters of Flash?

It was a huge honor to be invited to contribute alongside all the amazing people in that book. Also just getting to share my process with others was a thrill.

Drawings by James Paterson

Q. What (possible) future do you see for Flash after 2020, when Adobe will end support of the plugin, and how would you want to be involved with Flash when it’s outmoded?

I’m not sure that Flash has any future to be honest, except to be remembered as a platform which acted as a catalyst for a sort of Cambrian explosion of creativity at the dawn of the internet. I will continue to draw on it to inform my workflows moving into the future, and try to rebuild my favorite old school Flash workflows from scratch.

Q. When the final nail goes into the coffin, how will you remember Flash?

Flash was at the heart of an open and switched on creative community in the early days of the web. It introduced a lot of non-technical creative people to the art of programming, and did so in an accidentally perfect gradual manner. It was the source of much frustration for users when it was used to build entire websites or aggressive banner ads, but for a small group of early creative technologists it was a profoundly inspiring and mind expanding technology. Thank you, Macromedia and Adobe, for that glorious ugly duckling of a creative platform!

Keep track of what James Paterson is up to on his Instagram.

Inspired by James Paterson and want to make contact with thousands of other creatives just like you? Attend HOW Design Live and you’ll be among the best and brightest in the industry. Register now!

Edited from a series of electronic interviews.

The post James Paterson, Digital Frontiers appeared first on HOW Design.

James Paterson, Digital Frontiers syndicated post

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dawnajaynes32 · 5 years

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James Paterson, Digital Frontiers

Developer, programmer, artist, designer. Mad scientist?

James Paterson, photo by Jonathan Chang.

Paterson’s studio, where the magic happens.

But he’s a realist too.

VR (virtual reality) sculpting has become a major focus for Paterson. “It’s sort of a natural progression of my drawing process, popped into 3D, thanks to the hands-on-ness of VR.”

Q. Who were the Flash artists, designers, and developers you admired during the early days of Flash, and why?

Q. How would you describe what you called code as a living breathing thing and that frame loop that Joshua Davis made?

A mural by Paterson in the parking lot of B-Reel Los Angeles. Paterson works as a creative director at B-Reel.

Q. When you first heard about Flash being phased out, what was your reaction?

Q. Are you still developing for Flash, in any way, be it with Adobe Animate CC or something else?

View this post on Instagram

Gonna miss you Gord #gorddownieforever

A post shared by James Paterson (@presstube) on Oct 18, 2017 at 1:05pm PDT

Q. At what point did you leave Halfempty, and when you decided to do so, what did working independently enable you to do that you had not done before?

vimeo

Q. What did getting published mean to you, especially being in such great company in the book New Masters of Flash?

It was a huge honor to be invited to contribute alongside all the amazing people in that book. Also just getting to share my process with others was a thrill.

Drawings by James Paterson

Q. What (possible) future do you see for Flash after 2020, when Adobe will end support of the plugin, and how would you want to be involved with Flash when it’s outmoded?

Q. When the final nail goes into the coffin, how will you remember Flash?

Inspired by James Paterson and want to make contact with thousands of other creatives just like you? Attend HOW Design Live and you’ll be among the best and brightest in the industry. Register now!

Edited from a series of electronic interviews.

The post James Paterson, Digital Frontiers appeared first on HOW Design.

James Paterson, Digital Frontiers syndicated post

0 notes