Year of Love Project

Day Ten: Final Fantasy X

2010-01-11T15:44:00.001-07:00

Tidus and Yuna.

Final Fantasy X is the first game in the Final Fantasy series that has voice acting, which is one of the main reasons why I love this game (not as much as Final Fantasy VIII, but pretty damn close). Another great change introduced in FFX is the huge change from pre-rendered backdrops to fully three-dimensional areas, which honestly brings the series to a whole new level. I love this game not only for the amazing new improvements in graphic quality, but also the story too. A lot of people think that Tidus is a cry baby, but I absolutely love the characters and the story and how everything works together to create this amazing game. The new addition of the sphere grid is one thing I also loved seeing, as it was fresh and gave the game a bit of a new angle.
The story in Final Fantasy X starts out with Tidus, a hot-shot Blitzball player (it's a sport) getting ready for his next game in the city Zanarkand. Suddenly in the middle of the game, a huge monster appears and attacks the city. The monster is known as Sin. Tidus and his mentor Auron are then taken by Sin to the world of Spira. Tidus is found by Al Bhed divers and Rikku tells him that Zanarkand was destroyed 1000 years ago. After yet another attack by Sin, Tidus finds himself separated from the divers and at the tropical island of Besaid. In Besaid he meets Wakka, Yuna, Lula and Kimahri, who are setting out on a journey to collect the last aeon in order to defeat Sin.

Rikku, Tidus, Yuna, Auron and Lulu

Developer(s) Square
Publisher(s) JP Square
NA Square EA
PAL SCE Europe
Director(s) Motomu Toriyama
Takayoshi Nakazato
Toshiro Tsuchida
Producer(s) Yoshinori Kitase
Artist(s) Tetsuya Nomura
Writer(s) Kazushige Nojima
Composer(s) Nobuo Uematsu
Masashi Hamauzu
Junya Nakano
Series Final Fantasy
Aspect ratio 4:3 (SDTV)
Platform(s) PlayStation 2
Release date(s) JP July 19, 2001
NA December 20, 2001
INT January 31, 2002
AUS May 17, 2002
EU May 29, 2002
Genre(s) Console role-playing game
Mode(s) Single-player

Yuna, Rikku and Lula

Plot

Setting

Main article: Spira (Final Fantasy)

Final Fantasy X is set in the fictional world of "Spira", and it consists of one large landmass divided into three subcontinents, surrounded by small tropical islands. It features diverse climates, ranging from the tropical Besaid and Kilika islands to the temperate Mi'ihen region to the frigid Macalania and Mt. Gagazet. Although it is predominantly populated by humans, Spira features a variety of races. Among them are the Al Bhed, a technologically advanced but disenfranchised sub-group of humans with distinctive green eyes and unique language. The Guado are less human in appearance, with elongated fingers and other differences. They also have a natural propensity for magic and conjuring monsters. Still less human in appearance are the large, lion-like Ronso, and the frog-like Hypello. A subset of the sentient races of Spira are the "unsent"—the strong-willed spirits of the dead who remain in corporeal form. It is explained that the dead who are not "sent" to the Farplane by a summoner come to envy the living and transform into "fiends", the monsters that are encountered throughout the game. However, those with strong attachments may remain in human form as unsent. Other fauna in Spira, aside from those drawn from real animals, such as cats, dogs, birds, and butterflies, include the gigantic, amphibious "shoopuf", and the emu-like chocobo, which appears in most Final Fantasy games. Both are used primarily for transportation purposes. Most other unusual creatures encountered in Final Fantasy X are the aforementioned fiends.
Spira is very different from the mainly European-style worlds found in previous Final Fantasy games, being much more closely modeled on Southeast Asia, most notably with respect to vegetation, topography, architecture, and names. Character designer Tetsuya Nomura has identified the South Pacific, Thailand, and Japan as major influences on the cultural and geographic design of Spira, particularly concerning the geographic location of the southern islands; Besaid and Kilika. He has also said that Spira deviates from the worlds of past Final Fantasy games in the level of detail incorporated, something he has expressed to have made a conscious effort to maintain during the design process.Producer Yoshinori Kitase felt that if the setting went back to a medieval European fantasy, it would not seem to help the development team advance. While he was thinking of different world environments, scenario writer Kazushige Nojima suggested a fantasy world that incorporated Asian elements.

Tidus and Wakka

Characters

Main article: Characters of Final Fantasy X and X-2

The seven main playable characters in Final Fantasy X are Tidus, an energetic and upbeat blitzball star; Yuna, a reserved and soft-spoken summoner who always puts others before herself; Kimahri Ronso, an exile of the Ronso tribe who is devoted to protecting Yuna above all else; Wakka, a blitzball player and devout follower of the Yevon order; Lulu, a stoic and self-possessed, but well-meaning Black Mage; Auron, a taciturn former warrior monk; and Rikku, a perky Al Bhed girl with extensive knowledge of machinery. The primary antagonists of the game are maester Seymour Guado and the other maesters of the Yevon religion, while the enormous whale-like monster Sin serves as the primary source of conflict.
Sub-character chief designer Fumi Nakashima's focus was to ensure that characters from different regions and cultures bore distinctive characteristics in their clothing styles, so that they could be quickly and easily identified as members of their respective sub-groups. For example, she has said that the masks and goggles of the Al Bhed give the group a "strange and eccentric" appearance, while the attire of the Ronso lend to them being able to easily engage in battle.

Kimahri

Story

Final Fantasy X begins late in the story, with the main character, Tidus, waiting with his allies outside the ruined city of Zanarkand. Tidus narrates the series of events leading up to his present situation, which spans most of the game's storyline. It begins in Tidus' home city, the unruined and high-tech Zanarkand, where he is a renowned star of the underwater sport blitzball. During a blitzball tournament, the city is attacked by an immense creature shrouded in water known as Sin. The city is destroyed, and Tidus and Auron are taken by Sin to the world of Spira.
After arriving in Spira, Tidus is rescued by Al Bhed divers in the area, and upon asking where he is from, one of them, Rikku, tells him that Zanarkand had been destroyed 1000 years earlier. After another attack by Sin, Tidus is separated from the divers and drifts to the tropical island of Besaid, where he meets Wakka, the captain of the local blitzball team. Wakka introduces Tidus to Yuna, a young summoner planning a pilgrimage to the ruins of Zanarkand to get the "Final Aeon", the only weapon capable of defeating Sin, who is described as mankind's punishment for their sins. Accompanying Yuna are her guardians, Lulu, Wakka, and Kimahri. The party travels to gather aeons, defending against attacks by Sin. The party encounters Auron, who joins them. He reveals to Tidus that Yuna's father, Lord Braska; Tidus's father, Jecht; and himself made the same pilgrimage and defeated Sin ten years ago. Tidus thought his father had died at sea ten years earlier.Following more encounters with Sin, they are joined by Rikku, who is revealed to be Yuna's cousin. Throughout the pilgrimage, Tidus and Yuna draw close through their shared experiences and mutual interest.
When the party arrives in the Guado city Guadosalam, Seymour proposes to Yuna, and she informs the group of her intent to marry him to give Spira hope. Seymour's aide, Tromell, guides the group to Macalania's temple, where they see a message from Seymour's late father. He declares he was killed by his son, and that Seymour's evil nature will destroy Spira.The group engages Seymour in battle and they kill him; soon afterward, Sin attacks the group and they lose track of Yuna. Rikku guides the group to the Al Bhed "Home", which is under attack by Yevonite soldiers. While searching Home's base, Tidus learns that a summoner must give their life to perform the "Final Summoning", leading to his desire to find a way to defeat Sin that would not result in Yuna's death. Using the Al Bhed's airship, they escape the base before it is destroyed. The group finds Yuna in Bevelle, where she is forced to marry the now unsent Seymour. They interrupt the wedding and escape with Yuna towards Mt. Gagazet, where Seymour has slaughtered the Ronso tribe; after defeating him again, the group heads to Zanarkand.
Tidus learns that he, Jecht, and the Zanarkand they hail from are summoned entities akin to aeons. Long ago, a summoner named Yevon had the city's surviving people become "fayth" so that he could use their memories of Zanarkand to create a new city in its image, removed from the warfare on the Spiran mainland. Sin was also created, given form by Yevon to serve as armor; protecting himself and the fayth. While continuously summoning Dream Zanarkand, Yevon lost his humanity and became known as Yu Yevon, a being existing solely to maintain Dream Zanarkand's existence. Sin's true purpose was not punishment for mankind's sins, but to prevent the discovery of Dream Zanarkand's existence by persistently attacking the people of Spira.
Once the player completes Yuna's pilgrimage, Lady Yunalesca—Yevon's daughter and the first summoner to have defeated Sin—tells the group that the Final Aeon is created from the spirit of one close to a summoner. After defeating Sin, Yu Yevon's spirit possesses the aeon, transforming it into a new Sin. The group decides against using the Final Aeon and they defeat Yunalesca. They then seek a new way to permanently destroy Sin that will not require any sacrifices. This leads the group to enter Sin's body and battle Seymour, Jecht's imprisoned spirit, and Yu Yevon. Sin's cycle of rebirth ends, and the spirits of Spira's fayth are freed from their imprisonment, dispersing the pyreflies of the aeons, Dream Zanarkand, and Tidus in the process. Afterward, in a speech to the citizens of Spira, Yuna resolves to help rebuild the world now that it is free of Sin. After the credits, there is a brief scene with Tidus underwater. He opens his eyes and begins swimming upward, and the screen fades to white. This scene segues into the sequel, Final Fantasy X-2, in which Yuna investigates Tidus' possible survival in order to continue their relationship.

Auron

Day Nine: LittleBigPlanet

2010-01-10T19:08:00.001-07:00

Sack people dressed as workers.

LittleBigPlanet is an insanely fun and addictive platform adventure game in which you play as a Sack Person and make your way across tons of amazing levels collecting items. The items you collect can later be used to create your own levels, or to decorate your pod (your home base, basically). What I love most about this game is that it allows you to create almost anything you can think of, and if you have a bit of extra cash you can download tons of extra packs or costumes for your sack person. Another thing that totally made me love this game even more is the narrator (Stephen Fry!)that helps you along when you first start playing, and when you view the videos about items for creating your own levels. Some people think it's lame humor, but to me, well I love it, so I guess I love lame humor (I get it from my dad, let's blame him. xP).

If you search on youtube, or google videos, you can see some of the user created levels for LittleBigPlanet. There are a lot of amazing levels that are user made, and some even give you items at the end for completing them. You can also browse the LBP shop for more costumes, as well as packs that contain stickers and objects that you can use to make your own levels. It takes a bit of getting used to when it comes to making your own levels, but it's really fun and rewarding.

Some more pieces from costumes that you can get in LittleBigPlanet.

What is LittleBigPlanet?

If you were to stand on LittleBigPlanet and try to imagine a more astounding, fantastic, and creative place, full of enthralling adventure, uncanny characters, and brilliant things to do... you couldn’t. All imagination is here, and what you do with it all is entirely up to you.

Build new levels and expand the environment, collect the many and varied tools and objects to make your mark on this world, or just simply enjoy the people and puzzles they’ve set.

LittleBigPlanet is the manifested embodiment of your perfect dream world...

Sackboy

On the LittleBigPlanet you’re a little Sack Person like this one here, he’s a cute one isn’t he? Sackboy (or girl) is the fun little character that will share your adventures on LittleBigPlanet. One of the things that makes Sackboy so special is that he can be customised to look as stylish and sexy as you’d like him to look, or just plain weird. You’ll collect all kinds of clothing and things to dress him up with as you explore the world, and you can buy extra special ones from the PSN store too. Take a look at some of the costumes, and learn more about Sackboy.

Play

Exploring LittleBigPlanet will take you through a whole host of locations, whether you're playing on the PlayStation™3 or the PlayStation®Portable.
On the PlayStation®3 you’ll go from the safety of the King’s Gardens, through the Sahara and into the Arctic tundra. On the PSP™, join Sackboy as he takes a holiday, and travels all around the world collecting Creator Curators to take place in a Creator Carnival in Brazil.

Each location is packed with unique levels and challenges, using realistic physics and lots of jumpy-grabby action to deliver plenty of surprises and a great deal of fun. There are items to collect - clothes for Sackboy, stickers, and creative tools, some in plain sight, some hidden, and some given as rewards for being a super skilled player.
On the PS3™ LittleBigPlanet is multiplayer - up to four players can Play or Create together, at home or over the internet, co-operative or competitive!
When you’ve completed the story mode, you can head out into the big wide world, and play some of the levels made by other players - there are over a million of them, so you won’t ever run out!

Read more about playing on either PSP™ or PS3™.

Story

PlayStation®3

Upon arrival, the first place that your Sackboy will find himself in is known as the King’s Gardens. This idyllic playground is the perfect area to learn the tricks and skills required to successfully explore the colourful landscapes of LittleBigPlanet.

You’ll soon learn that the King is one of the fabled Curators responsible for all of the creations within LittleBigPlanet. Once Sackboy has proved his worth in the King’s realm, he’ll be sent off to other lands to learn the skills of other Curators.
Read more about the story in LittleBigPlanet™.

From the LittleBigPlanet about page.

Related Links
Official LittleBigPlanet site

Day Eight: How I Met Your Mother

2010-01-09T15:35:00.002-07:00

The cast of How I Met Your Mother.
Neil Patrick Harris, Alyson Hannigan, Jason Segel, Cobie Smulders, Josh Radnor

How I Met Your Mother (aka HIMYM) is a tv series that my boyfriend introduced me to a few years ago (I think it was in it's second season at the time), and easily became one of the best shows I've ever seen. You know the types of shows that actually make you laugh out loud, no matter how many times you've seen the same episode? To me, this is one of those shows. I can watch the same episodes over and over and still giggle about certain parts, and burst out laughing at others. A lot of people think that the comedic aspect is too predictable, which is maybe true to some extent, but that's why I love it. I love how Barney is constantly telling Ted to suit up, or calling things legendary. I love that no matter who Ted is seeing in the show, you just know that something is going to go wrong, I love Marshall's strange little songs and his silly looks. To me, they're all really lovable and entertaining characters, even if some stuff is repeated.

Robyn, Ted, Lily, Marshall and Barney at MacLaren's.

Cast
Main article: List of characters from How I Met Your Mother
Main characters
Josh Radnor as Ted Mosby

Jason Segel as Marshall Eriksen

Cobie Smulders as Robin Scherbatsky

Neil Patrick Harris as Barney Stinson

Alyson Hannigan as Lily Aldrin

Bob Saget (uncredited) as Future Ted Mosby (voice only)

Recurring characters
Lyndsy Fonseca as Future Daughter (2005-)

David Henrie as Future Son (2005-)

Sarah Chalke as Stella Zinman (2008–2009)

Ashley Williams as Victoria (2006)

Joe Manganiello as Brad (2006-)

Bryan Callen as Bilson (2006-)

Marshall Manesh as Ranjit (2005-)

Joe Nieves as Carl, the Bartender at MacLarens bar (2005-)

Charlene Amoia as Wendy the Waitress (2005-)

While Lyndsy Fonseca and David Henrie have appeared in the show since the pilot, no new footage was filmed after the season 2 episode Where Were We?. They are still credited when the archive footage is used.
Numerous actors from Joss Whedon projects have appeared on the show, such as series regulars Alyson Hannigan and Neil Patrick Harris, plus Amy Acker, Tom Lenk, Harry Groener, Morena Baccarin, and Alexis Denisof (Hannigan's husband). Aside from Denisof, Smulders' fiance Taran Killam and Harris' partner David Burtka are also featured (all three appearing in three episodes each).

Also, actors from Jason Segel's debut series Freaks and Geeks have appeared on the show, such as Samm Levine, Martin Starr, Busy Philipps, and Joanna Garcia.

Season synopses
Season One
In the year 2030, Ted Mosby (voiced by Bob Saget) gathers his daughter and son to tell them the story of how he met their mother.
The story begins in 2005 with Ted (Josh Radnor) as a single, 27-year-old architect living with his two best friends from Wesleyan University. At different points during the show, this "Wesleyan University" is alluded to being in Ohio and therefore Ohio Wesleyan University (as is written on Marshall's diploma) or in Connecticut giving the impression that it is Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT., Marshall Eriksen (Jason Segel), a law student, and Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan), a kindergarten teacher, who have been dating for almost nine years when Marshall proposes. Their engagement causes Ted to think about marriage and finding his soul mate, much to the disgust of his (best) friend Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris) whom he met in a bathroom after a night of drinks. Barney is known as a womanizer Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders), when Barney plays the game he invented to introduce Ted to women: "Have you met Ted?" Ted quickly falls in love with Robin and thinks about settling down, but Robin isn't ready. The viewers learn that Robin is not the mother when Ted, as he talks to his children, refers to Robin as their "Aunt Robin". with an unnamed corporate job. Ted begins his search for his perfect mate. He is introduced to the ambitious young reporter
As the series progresses, Ted begins dating a baker, Victoria, whom he meets at a wedding, causing Robin to become jealous and realize she does have feelings for him. Victoria moves to Germany for a culinary fellowship, and she and Ted try a long-distance relationship. Once Ted learns Robin has feelings for him, he tells her that he has broken up with Victoria and they almost have sex when Victoria calls and Robin answers by mistake. Ted and Victoria then break up, and Robin becomes mad at Ted for a number of episodes, but they eventually make up. Ted gets a call from Love Solutions, a matrimonial company that previously struggled to find a match for him, who have finally found him a match. But Ted decides not to show up for the blind date because he still believes Robin is the one.
Meanwhile, Lily begins to wonder if she's missed any opportunities because of her relationship with Marshall, and decides to pursue an art fellowship in San Francisco, breaking up with Marshall in the process. The season ends with Ted coming back to the apartment the morning after spending the night with Robin for the first time, to find Marshall sitting in the rain with Lily's engagement ring.

Season Two
Ted and Robin are finally a couple. A heartbroken Marshall must now go on and try to continue his life without Lily, and he reluctantly begins dating other people. Realizing she is not an artist, Lily returns to New York. She is reunited with Marshall, and the season culminates in their marriage. Barney loses a "slap bet," which permits Marshall to slap him in the face five times at any given time in the future, whenever Marshall chooses, which he does twice during this season. It is revealed that Barney has a gay, black brother (Wayne Brady). Barney believes that Bob Barker is his father takes a trip to California to be a contestant on The Price is Right, although he doesn't actually tell Barker. They discover Robin was a Canadian teen pop star in the early 90s, with a hit single "Let's Go To The Mall". The music video, viewed by Barney hundreds of times, becomes a common joke during the show.
In the season finale, through a series of flashbacks, Barney learns from Ted and Robin that they broke up for some time before Marshall and Lily's wedding. Not wanting to take attention away from Marshall and Lily, they didn't tell anyone until after the wedding. Ted and Robin agree to stay friends as Ted wants to get married and Robin does not. The season ends with Barney excited at the prospect of Ted and himself being single guys on the town again.

Season Three
Robin returns from a trip to Argentina and Ted must adjust to life as just her friend. Marshall and Lily decide to move out on their own, falling in love with a place they can't afford. Marshall learns of Lily's bad credit rating due to her compulsive shopping. They are able to finally score their dream apartment despite this, only to discover the bad location as well as the apartment being poorly constructed. Barney is slapped for the third time on Thanksgiving, which Marshall dubs "Slapsgiving."
It is revealed that the way Ted met "The Mother" is through a story with her yellow umbrella, which he finds at a club and takes home ("No Tomorrow"). Ted attempts to woo Stella (Sarah Chalke), a dermatologist he sees to remove an embarrassing tattoo. This culminates in a memorable "two-minute date," which incorporates small talk, dinner, a movie, coffee, two cab rides, and a goodnight kiss, all within two minutes. Meanwhile, an unknown woman begins to sabotage Barney's attempts to hook up. Robin sleeps with Barney after he comforts her following a break-up, which is followed by Ted's disapproval due to the breaking of the "Bro Code." Ted decides to stop being friends with Barney as a result. Barney's saboteur is revealed to be Abby (Britney Spears), Stella's receptionist, with a vendetta against him for not calling her after they had sex. In the last episode, "Miracles", Ted and Barney renew their friendship after both are involved in accidents (Ted is in a cab accident and comes out of it without a scratch. Barney is run over by a bus while rushing to find out if Ted's all right). At the end of the episode, Ted proposes to Stella.
In the episode "Ten Sessions", Stella reveals that she attended and left a party on St. Patrick's Day, which may have been the same one Ted attended. Ted told his children that the future mother of his children was at the party, but they had not seen each other.
It is heavily implied that Barney has feelings for Robin. In the episode "The Goat", it is revealed that in the following year (when Ted turns 31) Robin will be living in Ted's apartment. This is confirmed in "Not a Father's Day."

Season Four
The gang continues to mature as they all reach their 30s. Stella says "yes" to Ted's proposal, but leaves him at the altar to get back together with the father of her daughter, Tony. Barney struggles with his feelings for Robin. Barney's company shifts him to the management team of a new acquisition, Goliath National Bank (GNB), and Barney in turn gets Marshall a job at the bank as in-house counsel and a contract for Ted's firm to design GNB's Manhattan headquarters.
Marshall and Lily finally move to their new apartment and struggle over whether or not they're ready to have children. Robin takes a new job in Japan, but quickly resigns because it's even worse than Metro News One and returns to New York for Ted's wedding. Soon after, Robin becomes roommates with Ted and eventually gets a job as an anchor for a 4:00 A.M. news show after Barney sends her video resume to media companies. Ted finds out about Barney's feelings for Robin when Ted and Robin sleep together constantly so they won't fight over each other's bad habits. Relationship tension begins rising between Barney and Robin. Ted finds out Lily has sabotaged all of his relationships with anyone she doesn't approve of and indirectly may have inspired his breakup with Robin. Robin and Ted end up talking about it, causing their friendship to begin moving towards a positive note.
Ted gets laid off from his GNB design job, resulting in the founding of his own independent company named "Mosbius Designs". As his birthday approaches, Ted anticipates old age but comes to understand that the journey is just as much fun as the ending. Likewise, as Barney finally sleeps with his 200th woman and, after rubbing it in the face of the childhood bully that taunted him into pursuing it, questions what the rest of his life would be about now, leaving him more certain of his feelings for Robin.
Ted, while carrying the yellow umbrella, bumps into Stella and Tony. Tony later decides to visit him, sympathizing with Ted in his loss of Stella. Tony offers him a job as a professor of architecture, which Ted turns down, saying he doesn't miss Stella nor want her back because of her deception. This causes Tony to break up with Stella, but she convinces Ted to reunite the pair, who then move to California. In his last words to Stella, Ted mentions he wants what Tony and Stella, and Lily and Marshall have for each other. Stella tells him his girl is coming as fast as she can.
Lily abandons the group and disappears for four weeks after hearing a dirty joke from Barney (a plot device implemented to explain Hannigan's absence while giving birth). In the season finale, Robin finally finds out about Barney's love for her, which she then reciprocates. Ted decides he is done being an architect and opts to instead teach architecture classes. The finale ends with the tease that the mother of Ted's children is in his class.

Season Five
The season kicks off with Ted starting his first day as an architecture professor, standing in the middle of a classroom - although the mother was present, it turns out not to be the architecture class he is supposed to teach, but instead an economics class. It is revealed that Barney and Robin have had a sexual relationship throughout the summer. Lily locks them in a room, forcing them to have 'the talk', the two finally come to terms with their relationship. After a rough patch they decide to break up. Robin described it instead as "two friends getting back together."

- Quoted from Wikipedia.

Day Seven: Penguins

2010-01-08T14:45:00.001-07:00

Adelie Penguins jumping off iceberg, Paulet Island, Antarctica
Image Copyright 2007 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Ever since I learned about penguins when I was in the 2nd or 3rd grade, I have completely loved them! I'm not sure what exactly what it was that really caught my interest then but I've never found any other animal as interesting as I find penguins. Over the years I've collected a lot of penguin things, from stuffed animals to decorations, calendars, I even have pajamas, slippers, socks, coffee mugs, tins, calculators, pens and pencils, and bookmarks with penguins on them. The first things I always notice in stores are anything that have to do with penguins, and sometimes its pretty hard to convince myself not to buy something I don't need just because it has a penguin on it! I have even had an idea in my head for a long time about a book that features a not-so-evil penguin (who thinks he's an evil genius) that wears a top hat and monocle.

Adelie Penguin chick, head portrait in snow, Brown Bluff, Antarctica
Image Copyright 2007 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Penguins are one of the many flightless birds that live in our world, with between 17 and 20 living species today (there are debates over sub species of certain penguins, which is why the number is between 17 and 20). Penguins may have a slight disadvantage being unable to fly, but they are adapted incredibly well for aquatic life. Diving penguins are able to reach speeds of 6 to 12 km/h (3.7 to 7.5 mph), and some of the larger penguins are known to stay underwater for as long as 22 minutes at a time, whereas the smaller species of penguins are known for only staying underwater for up to 2 minutes. Smaller species of penguins typically don't need to dive very deep, as most of their food can be found near the surface of the water.

Chinstrap Penguins squabbling on iceberg near Coronation Island, South Orkney Islands
Image Copyright 2007: Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Since penguins will spend half of their life underwater it's important that they keep warm, which is why they have a layer of thick insulating feathers (heat loss is much greater under water than it is in the air) and underneath that is a layer of air to help keep the penguins buoyant. Many people think that all penguins live in the cold Antarctica, but even though penguins are native to the southern hemisphere, there are some that live in warmer areas such as Australia, New Zealand, South America and even South Africa.

Chinstrap Penguins trying to hop onto an iceberg in Antarctica.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

The largest living species is the Emperor Penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri): adults average about 1.1 m (3 ft 7 in) tall and weigh 35 kg (75 lb) or more. The smallest penguin species is the Little Blue Penguin (Eudyptula minor), also known as the Fairy Penguin, which stands around 40 cm tall (16 in) and weighs 1 kg (2.2 lb). Among extant penguins, larger penguins inhabit colder regions, while smaller penguins are generally found in temperate or even tropical climates (see also Bergmann's Rule). Some prehistoric species attained enormous sizes, becoming as tall or as heavy as an adult human (see below for more). These were not restricted to Antarctic regions; on the contrary, subantarctic regions harboured high diversity, and at least one giant penguin occurred in a region not quite 2,000 km south of the equator 35 mya, in a climate decidedly warmer than today.

- Quoted from Wikipedia.

Chinstrap Penguins on blue iceberg near Coronation Island, South Orkney Islands
Image Copyright 2007 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Breeding
Penguins for the most part breed in large colonies, the exceptions being the Yellow-eyed and Fiordland species; these colonies may range in size from as few as a 100 pairs for Gentoo Penguins, to several hundred thousand in the case of King, Macaroni and Chinstrap Penguins. Living in colonies results in a high level of social interaction between birds, which has led to a large repertoire of visual as well as vocal displays in all penguin species.Agonistic displays are those intended to confront or drive off, or alternately appease and avoid conflict with, other individuals.
Penguins form monogamous pairs for a breeding season, though the rate the same pair recouples varies drastically. Most penguins lay two eggs in a clutch, although the two largest species, the Emperor and the King Penguins, lay only one. With the exception of the Emperor Penguin, in all penguins share the incubation duties.These incubation shifts can last days and even weeks as one member of the pair feeds at sea.
Penguins generally only lay one brood; the exception is the Little Penguin, which can raise two or three broods in a season.
Penguin eggs are smaller than any other bird species when compared proportionally to the weight of the parent birds; at 52 g (2 oz), the Little Penguin egg is 4.7% of its mothers' weight, and the 450 g (1 lb) Emperor Penguin egg is 2.3% The relatively thick shell forms between 10 and 16 % of the weight of a penguin egg, presumably to minimise risk of breakage in an adverse nesting environment. The yolk, too, is large, and comprises 22–31 % of the egg. Some yolk often remains when a chick is born, and is thought to help sustain it if parents are delayed in returning with food.
When mothers lose a chick, they sometimes attempt to "steal" another mother's chick, usually unsuccessfully as other females in the vicinity assist the defending mother in keeping her chick. In some species, such as Emperor Penguins, young penguins assemble in large groups called crèches.

- Quoted from Wikipedia.

Rockhopper Penguin, Sea Lion Island, Falklands
Image Copyright 2007 Arthur Morris/BIRDS AS ART

Related Links

Penguins on Wikipedia

Penguins on Antarctic Connection

Penguins on National Geographic

Day Six: Kyoto Foodie

2010-01-07T14:45:00.001-07:00

Restaurant Okumura's French Osechi Box

Yum, yum! Doesn't that look just delicious? I got so hungry from that picture alone that I had to make myself something to eat...

Anyone that knows me probably knows that I really love asian culture, especially Japanese! So I suppose it's not really a surprise that I'm just in love with the site Kyoto Foodie, a site for anyone who is planning to, or already in Kyoto and looking for great places to eat. I of course don't expect that I'll be on Kyoto anytime soon, unless I win a lot of money, but I still love the site nonetheless. Just looking at all the pictures of amazing food and reading the articles not only makes me insanely hungry, but makes me want to visit Japan even more.

Are you planning a trip to Kyoto? Did you just arrive and you haven’t found the places to dine yet? Japan, especially Kyoto can be a difficult place to find the local color. The historic places don’t change much, so a guide book can be relied upon. But seeing the sights works up quite an appetite, then it’s time to eat! But where? The guide books are weak on this point. Blogs and social media are the place to go for the this information. And just what is it that we are eating? Find out where (and what) the locals are eating from some longtime residents of Kyoto, both ex pat and Japanese here on Kyoto Foodie!

- Quoted from Kyoto Foodie's About page

Kyoto-style Beef Manju Steamed Bun

I see these often on anime as well as asian drama's, and each time I'm so sad I can't try one myself. They look so good!

Kyoto Foodie has a lot of great content on their site, from articles about restaurants, from where to buy certain items in Kyoto such as Soy Sauce Candy or Mochi Mochi 'Mushi Pan' Steamed Bread, to recipes and how to prepare certain things like fresh bamboo shoots. Even if you don't plan to be in Kyoto ever, this site will at least make you drool with all the beautiful pictures of delicious food. If anything, it will make you wish you could run out to the store and pick up ingredients to try making some of these delicious dishes yourself (though I know for a fact the stores where I live don't sell the things I would need).

Uchibori’s Fruit Vinegar Chocolate Bonbon Lineup

Peko fruit flavored vinegar chocolates, I wish I could bite into one of those right now!

Aside from all the pictures of food, there is also a lot of information in every post that I find interesting. Whether it's what time of year a certain ice cream is sold, or about how certain holidays are celebrated in Japan as opposed to North America, there is always something new to be learned! Not surprisingly, my favorite posts from Kyoto Foodie are the ones about junk food! I have read many of their posts on particular junk foods (such as the Fruit Vinegar Chocolate Bonbon's linked/pictured above) found in Kyoto many times over, and so jealous that I'm not able to find any fun treats like those here.

Classic and Summer Theme Junk Food

The bottom of the Kit-Kat package actually says to eat chilled! Yummy!

I can't wait for the day that I can finally visit Kyoto and try all of these amazing treats and dishes, and hopefully I'll leave each and every one of them! At least I'll be able to take pictures of the food myself and drool over them later when I come back home!

Apologies for a bit of a shorter post today, it's hard to write about much of anything with enthusiasm with a splitting headache. :(

Day Five: Studio Ghibli

2010-01-06T11:33:00.002-07:00

Chihiro and No-Face from Spirited Away

I first heard about Studio Ghibli when I rented the strange movie Princess Mononoke from the local video store. At that time, I didn't really think too much about it, just like I don't think anything about TriStar Pictures, or Paramount Pictures when their little logo shows up before the beginning of a movie. I was probably between 10-12 at this time, so things like that just didn't matter at all to me.

But the movie, it was crazy! From the disgusting, deranged boar, to the insanely creepy kodama, and the strange Forest Spirit and his many horns. I think the first time I watched it, I was in awe almost the entire movie. You didn't see things this weird (or gory) on shows here (at least not the normal kind I watched at that age). I convinced my sister to watch it with me one day, and she had pretty much the same reaction as I did. As strange as this movie was, it was really good!

At that time, we had dial-up in our house, so I was never able to do a lot of online browsing, so the movie and Studio Ghibli slipped out of my mind again until 2001. I remember hearing so much suddenly about this new movie that had been released in Japan by Studio Ghibli, Spirited Away. I'm not sure what it was that drew it to me, maybe then it was just the fact that it was something made in Japan or that it was another Studio Ghibli title, I just had to see it! And then, the commercials came on tv. Spirited Away was being released in North America!
Spirited Away was released in Canada in November 2002, and after mentioning this movie to my grandma, she went out and bought it and sent it to me for Christmas. Needless to say, I was ecstatic when I saw it on Christmas day, and watched it over and over again for weeks afterwards. After that, I really knew Studio Ghibli was something special. I had never watched any other movies that captivated and enthralled me the way that Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away did. It wasn't long before I started searching for more information about Studio Ghibli, and was excited to learn that they had a few other titles that were already released in North America, and more coming soon!

Studio Ghibli, Inc Logo

Studio Ghibli, Inc. (株式会社スタジオジブリ Kabushiki-kaisha Sutajio Jiburi) is a Japanese animation film studio. The company's logo features the character Totoro from Hayao Miyazaki's film My Neighbor Totoro.

Several anime features created by Studio Ghibli have won the Animage Anime Grand Prix award, including: Laputa: Castle in the Sky, in 1986; My Neighbor Totoro, in 1988; and Kiki's Delivery Service, in 1989. In 2002, Spirited Away won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature and it remains the only anime film to have done so

Japanese Theatrical Poster for My Neighbor Totoro

Name

The name Ghibli is based on the Arabic name for the sirocco, or Mediterranean wind, which the Italians used for their Saharan scouting planes in the Second World War. The idea being that the studio would blow a new wind through the Japanese anime industry.

Though the Italian word is pronounced with a hard /ɡ/, the Japanese pronunciation of the studio's name is with a soft g, [dʑíbɯɽi].

History

Founded in 1985, the studio is headed by the directors Hayao Miyazaki and Isao Takahata and the producer Toshio Suzuki. Prior to the formation of the studio, Miyazaki and Takahata had already had long careers in Japanese film and television animation and had worked together on Hols: Prince of the Sun and Panda! Go, Panda!; and Suzuki was an editor at Tokuma Shoten's Animage manga magazine.

Hayao Miyazaki

The studio was founded after the success of the 1984 film Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, written and directed by Miyazaki for Topcraft and distributed by Tōei. The origins of the the film lie in the first two volumes of a serialized manga written by Miyazaki for publication in Animage as a way of generating interest in an anime version. Suzuki was part of the production team on the film and founded Studio Ghibli with Miyazaki, who also invited Takahata to join the new studio.

The studio has mainly produced films by Miyazaki, with the second most prolific director being Takahata (most notably with Grave of the Fireflies). Other directors who have worked with Studio Ghibli include Tomomi Mochizuki, Yoshifumi Kondo, Hiroyuki Morita and Gorō Miyazaki. Composer Joe Hisaishi has provided the soundtrack for all of Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli films.

Many of Ghibli's works are distributed in Japan by Toho. Internationally, the Walt Disney Company has rights to all of Ghibli's output that did not have previous international distribution, including the global, non-Japan distribution rights to Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away.

Japanese Promotional Poster for Howl's Moving Castle

Over the years, there has been a close relationship between Studio Ghibli and the magazine Animage, which regularly runs exclusive articles about the studio and its members in a section titled "Ghibli Notes." Artwork from Ghibli's films and other works frequently features on the cover of the magazine. Between 1999 and 2005 Studio Ghibli was a subsidiary of Tokuma Shoten, the publisher of Animage.

In October 2001, the Ghibli Museum opened in Tokyo. It contains exhibits based on Studio Ghibli films and shows animations, including an number of short Studio Ghibli films not available elsewhere.

Robot Statue at Ghibli Museum from the film Castle in the Sky (aka Laputa on the Roof)

The company is well-known for its strict "no-edits" policy in licensing their films abroad. This was a result of the dubbing of Miyazaki's Nausicaä of the Valley of Wind when the film was released in the United States as Warriors of the Wind. The film was heavily edited and Americanized, with significant portions cut and the plot rewritten. The "no cuts" policy was highlighted when Miramax co-chairman Harvey Weinstein suggested editing Princess Mononoke to make it more marketable. In response, a Studio Ghibli producer sent an authentic katana with a simple message: "No cuts".

On February 1, 2008, Toshio Suzuki stepped down from the position of Studio Ghibli president, which he had held since 2005, and Koji Hoshino (former president of Walt Disney Japan) took over. Suzuki said he wanted to improve films with his own hands as a producer, rather than demanding this from his employees. Suzuki decided to hand over the presidency to Hoshino because Hoshino has helped Studio Ghibli to sell its videos since 1996, as well as helping to release the Princess Mononoke film in the United States.

Japanese Promotional Poster for Tales of Earthsea

Currently, Takahata and Goro Miyazaki (director of Tales from Earthsea and Hayao's son) are developing projects for release after Hayao Miyazaki's Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea.

Related Links
Studio Ghibli Official Site (JP)
Official Site of Studio Ghibli Museum (JP & EN)

Day Four: Final Fantasy VIII

2010-01-05T13:04:00.002-07:00

Balamb Garden in Final Fantasy VIII

Final Fantasy VIII was the very first Final Fantasy game I ever played, and I still regard it as my favourite Final Fantasy game. I remember the first time I played, it was at my cousins in Prince Albert. One of them was playing and I was immediately hooked, it looked like so much fun! They eventually let my sister and I try playing, and I absolutely loved it. I remember buying it shortly after we got home from that trip, and playing it into the wee hours of the morning for days afterwards.

The game starts out with the above opening before you get into any of the gameplay. Afterwards you find out that your name is Squall Leonhart, and that you and another student named Seifer had been training earlier that morning when you got injured. Squall and Seifer attend the military accademy, Balamb Garden, and are in training to become part of "SeeD", a group of mercenaries paid by the academy to perform various tasks around the world.

Zell

Characters
Main article: Characters of Final Fantasy VIII

The six main playable characters in Final Fantasy VIII are Squall Leonhart, a loner who keeps his focus on his duty to avoid vulnerability; Rinoa Heartilly, an outspoken and passionate young woman who follows her heart in all situations; Quistis Trepe, an instructor with a serious, patient attitude; Zell Dincht, a martial artist with a passion for hot dogs; Selphie Tilmitt, a cheerful girl who loves trains and pilots the airship Ragnarok; and Irvine Kinneas, a marksman and consummate ladies' man. Temporarily playable characters include Laguna Loire, Kiros Seagill, and Ward Zabac, who appear in "flashback" sequences, and antagonists Seifer Almasy and Edea Kramer.

Selphie

Story
Final Fantasy VIII begins as Squall duels with Seifer in a training session outside the Balamb Garden military academy. Meanwhile, the Galbadian regime invades the Dollet Dukedom, forcing Dollet to hire assistance from the Balamb Garden branch of "SeeD", Garden's elite mercenary force. SeeD uses the mission as a final examination for its cadets; with the help of his instructor, Quistis, Squall passes its prerequisite and is grouped with Seifer and Zell. Seifer disobeys orders and abandons his team, forcing Selphie to accompany Squall and Zell for the duration of the mission. After the mission, SeeD halts the Galbadian advance; Squall, Zell, and Selphie graduate to SeeD status while Seifer is disciplined for his disobedience. During the graduation party, Squall meets Rinoa, whose personality is apparently the opposite of his. When assigned with Zell and Selphie to help Rinoa's Galbadian resistance, Squall learns that a sorceress named Edea is behind Galbadia's hostilities. Under orders from Balamb and Galbadia Gardens, Squall and his comrades—now joined by Rinoa, Quistis, and Irvine—attempt to assassinate Edea. However, the sorceress thwarts the attempt, and the party is detained. Squall's party also learns that Seifer has left Garden to become Edea's second-in-command.

Quistis

After the team escapes, Edea launches a missile attack on Trabia Garden. Fearing that Balamb Garden is the next target of Edea's revenge, the team splits into two units. Squall's group returns to Balamb to warn of the attack, but must first stop an internal conflict incited by NORG, SeeD's financier. Selphie's team travels to the Missile Base to stop the launch, but fails. Squall inadvertently turns Balamb Garden into a mobile fortress, allowing the facility to evade the missiles; however, he loses control, and Garden collides with the docks at Fishermans Horizon. While local technicians repair the Garden, Galbadians invade in search of a girl named Ellone, who had been staying at Balamb Garden until recently. Ellone eventually escapes to Esthar, the world's technological superpower. During Squall's meeting with Ellone, he learns that she had been "sending" him and his allies into flashbacks set seventeen years in the past in a vain effort to alter the present. The scenes center on Laguna and his two friends, Kiros and Ward. During the flashbacks, Laguna changes from a Galbadian soldier to the defender of a country village, and then from leader of a resistance movement against Sorceress Adel to president of Esthar.

Squall

Meanwhile, Squall confronts his personal anxieties fueled by ongoing developments, such as Headmaster Cid appointing him as SeeD's new leader, and his increasing attraction to Rinoa. While investigating Trabia Garden's wreckage, Squall and his comrades learn that they, along with Seifer and Ellone, were all raised (with the exception of Rinoa) in an orphanage run by Edea; they later developed amnesia due to their use of Guardian Forces. It is also revealed that Cid and Edea had established Garden and SeeD primarily to defeat corrupt sorceresses. After these revelations, the forces of Balamb Garden and the Galbadian army, led by Squall and Seifer respectively, engage in battle above the orphanage. After Balamb defeats Galbadia, the player learns that Edea is merely an unwilling tool for "Ultimecia", a powerful sorceress from the future who wishes to compress time into a single moment; it is for this reason she has sought Ellone. Edea loses a decisive battle against the SeeD, forcing Ultimecia to transfer her powers to Rinoa; Edea survives, but Rinoa enters a coma. Squall becomes obsessed with waking her and goes to Esthar to find Ellone, as he believes that she can help save Rinoa.

Rinoa

While Rinoa is being treated on Esthar's space station, Ultimecia uses her to free Sorceress Adel from her orbital prison. Ultimecia then orders Seifer to activate the Lunatic Pandora facility, inciting a rain of creatures from the moon that sends Adel's containment device to the planet. Having selected Adel as her next host, Ultimecia abandons Rinoa in outer space. Squall rescues her, and they return to the planet on a derelict starship. Upon their landing, delegates from Esthar isolate Rinoa for fear of her sorceress abilities, forcing Squall to rescue her. President Laguna apologizes for the incident and announces Dr. Odine's plan to let Ultimecia possess Rinoa, have Ellone send Rinoa (and thus Ultimecia as well) to the past and then retrieve only Rinoa back to the present, enabling Ultimecia to achieve Time Compression, as it would allow Squall's group to confront Ultimecia in her time. To do this, Squall's team infiltrates Lunatic Pandora, defeats Seifer and Adel, and has Rinoa inherit Adel's sorceress powers. Time Compression is thus initiated; Squall and his allies travel to Ultimecia's era and defeat her.

Ultimecia

With Ultimecia defeated, the universe begins returning to normal; however, Squall is nearly lost in the flow of time as he witnesses the origins of the game's story. When a dying Ultimecia travels back in time to pass her powers to Edea, Squall informs Edea of the concepts of Garden and SeeD that she will create. Afterward, he is able to properly recollect his memories and was able to regain consciousness and thus return to the present. The ending cinema depicts the events after Squall's return to the present. Seifer is once again reunited with Raijin and Fujin; Laguna visits Raine's grave (and recollects his proposal to her) along with Ellone, Ward, and Kiros; and a celebration takes place in the Garden, with Squall and Rinoa kissing one another under the moonlight.

Related Links
Final Fantasy VIII on Wikipedia
Final Fantasy VIII on FFOnline
Final Fantasty VIII on FFInsider

Day Three: Questionable Content

2010-01-04T15:06:00.003-07:00

Marten Reed, Dora Bianchi, Faye Whitaker

Questionable Content (aka QC) is one of the webcomics that I've been following for about two years now. It's one of my favourite webcomics, and I'm constantly refreshing the site during the evenings while waiting for new updates during the week (and sometimes on the weekends when I lose track of what day it is). One of my favourite things about QC is usually little things added into the backgrounds, like a sign telling people not to Rick Roll the audience, interesting specials, and interesting art on the walls.

The plot follows the lives of Marten Reed and his friends, Faye Whitaker, Hannahlore Ellicott-Chatham, and his girlfriend Dora Bianchi (as well as many more of their friends and acquaintances, and some strange yelling birds...). Originally, the plot was meant to be about the lonely Marten Reed and his robot Pintsize, but as time went along more characters entered the scene and made for a much more interesting plot. The creator of QC, Jeph Jacques, first started posting Questionable Content online in August 2003 and to date there are 1,571 strips in total.

Author(s) Jeph Jacques
Website http://www.questionablecontent.net
Current Status /Schedule Updates every weekday
Launch Date 1 August 2003
Genre(s) Humor/Slice-of-Life

Click the image to see the original size.

Synopsis
Setting

Questionable Content takes place in Northampton, Massachusetts; the most frequent setting locales include Marten and Faye's shared apartment, Coffee of Doom (the fictional coffee shop Dora owns), and Smith College's Williston Library where Marten is employed. (The real Williston Library is at Mount Holyoke College; the public library in Jacques' hometown of Easthampton is also called the Williston Library. The main library at Smith is Neilson.) The comic is mostly realistic (with occasional bouts of absurdity), and action primarily focuses on banter between the characters, with slowly-progressing plot developments. Due to the emphasis on inter-character dialogue, Jacques rarely uses thought bubbles in the comic.

The comic appears to be set in modern times, though the presence of anthropomorphic robots with individual personalities (called "AnthroPCs" within the comic) implies some sort of futuristic technology. However all music and band references in the comic are current at the time of each individual strip's publishing. The AnthroPCs are the only consistent signs of advanced technology in the series. When other technological advances are referenced, they usually never get developed beyond one or two strips. Some of the memorable technological creations in QC are the Deathbot 9000; a Vespa scooter that transforms into a battle droid; humans living permanently in space, and orbital defense satellites capable of conversation. Jacques remarked of the setting:

Something people do not often realize is that the world in which QC takes place is considerably stranger than our own. You'd think that with all the little talking robots running around everywhere that this would be obvious, but I am consistently surprised at how often people take it for granted.

—Jeph Jacques, Questionable Content

The internal chronology of the strip is somewhat ambiguous; on January 13, 2006, Jeph Jacques stated on a LiveJournal fan community that he has "never sat down and exactly tabulated," but he suspects the total amount of elapsed QC time at that point was "no more than six months." Jacques also estimated that by the 1,400th comic, the elapsed time will have been "greater than six months and less than two years."

Faye Whitaker, Dora Bianchi

Characters
Marten Reed is QC's main character, and the first character to be introduced at the strip's beginning. He is an indie rock fan and former "office bitch" who now works at the Smith College Library. Marten lives with Faye, whom he was romantically interested in for many months, but he is now dating Dora. Marten is in a band named Deathmøle with neighbors Amir, Hannelore and formerly Natasha.

Faye Whitaker is an employee at Coffee of Doom. She moves to Northampton from Savannah, Georgia, two years after a nervous breakdown resultant from witnessing her father's suicide and moves in with Marten after she burns down her apartment with a toaster. Faye is known for a quick wit and a sharp tongue, usually used in affection. Faye was celibate for a long time, then impulsively slept with Dora's brother Sven. A short time later, the two of them had a falling out when Sven confessed to sleeping with fictional country music starlet Gina Riversmith. Her first appearance was in comic number three.

Dora Bianchi is Marten's girlfriend, a bisexual former goth who owns and operates the coffee shop Coffee of Doom. Unlike most of the main characters, she prefers metal to indie rock. Dora does graphic and web design in her spare time and claims to have a long history of social anxiety that she tries to hide with her use of sass. Dora first appeared in comic 75.

Hannelore Ellicott-Chatham (nicknamed Hanners) is Marten and Faye's eccentric upstairs neighbor, who lives in apartment number 33. She has a rather severe case of obsessive-compulsive disorder, is an insomniac, and counts things for a living. Hannelore has a raw talent for playing drums (which she describes as "counting with your whole body"); she was introduced to drumming by Marten, and has joined Deathmøle. Her parents are both billionaires, but have paid little attention to her during all her life. Hannelore first appeared in comic 515[38].
Pintsize is Marten's AnthroPC, and was the second character introduced in the comic's first strip. He is a companion to Marten and frequently used for comic relief, throw-away gags or to add punchlines to a strip.
Raven Pritchard, a native of Houston, is an ex-goth friend of Dora's and a junior employee at Coffee of Doom. Although she is energetic and cheerful now, Dora claims that Raven was 20 pounds heavier in college and very depressed. Raven goes by her middle name as she dislikes her first name, Blodwyn (Welsh for 'White Flower'). While generally depicted as being somewhat 'air-headed' and oblivious, she has been known to display remarkable intellect and insight at times, and it has even been hinted that her mental 'slowness' might just be an act. Comic 1509 revealed that Raven is pursuing a doctorate in physics. Raven's parents both occupy professions that require a lot of mental capability. Raven was first showed in a unnamed apearance in comic 46, and her first appearance as a regular character was in comic 102.
Steve is one of Marten's close friends. Steve is described "more adept at dating than Marten".[47] He is, however, prone to frequently going out of control after a break-up, and was tapped by an unspecified US intelligence agency because "nobody would believe [him] if [he] tried to expose [them]" in his drunken stupor . Steve first appeared in comic 3. He has recently started dating Cosette

Sven Bianchi is Dora's older brother, a successful writer of country music songs. Sven has a very active love and sex life, though he claims to have calmed down. Sven and Faye had a physical relationship, although that physical relationship ended after Sven had a one-night stand with Gina Riversmith, a fictional country singer. Sven first appeared in comic 328.
Penelope Gaines (often called Penny or Pen-pen over her objections, or will have her name pronounced to rhyme with "Antelope" to similar objections) is the newest employee of Coffee of Doom. She is suspected of having been the superhero Pizza Girl, formerly a recurring character. She was courted by Sven's friend Wil, a poet, but they only had two awkward dates before he decided to find himself on the road. He kept correspondence with her while he was away, and now that he has since returned, Penelope is helping Wil find work while he stays with her. Penelope first appeared in comic 698.
Tai studies English at Smith College, and is Marten's boss at the library. She is a lesbian with a very active and complicated love life, sports numerous tattoos on her arms, and is a great fan of Jimbo's romance novels. She goes by the DJ name Tai Fighter. Tai first appeared in comic 691.
Winslow is Hannelore's Macintosh model AnthroPC. He resembles an oversized iPod with arms and legs. Though Winslow was initially taunted by Pintsize with "pictures of equine molestation," the two are now friends. Winslow is a cautious foil to Pintsize's reckless nature. Winslow first appeared in comic 527.
Angus McPhee is a regular customer of 'Coffee of Doom', and is obviously romantically interested in Faye Whitaker, though the level of reciprocation is unclear. Angus is employed as a 'professional strawman', and enjoys Faye's rapier wit. He shares an apartment with Marigold, a very messy computer expert who has fixed Pintsize for Marten in exchange for Hannelore's cleaning expertise. Angus first appeared in comic 710.

Related Links:

Questionable Content

Questionable Content - Wiki

Questionable Content Merchandise at TopatoCo

Day Two: Origami

2010-01-03T15:00:00.004-07:00

Happy Mother's Day by rednmercedes.

A few weeks ago I stumbled across a Origami kit in Coles, and I decided to pick it up, seeing as it was only $12 for a book and a bunch of origami paper. I've always thought origami is so amazing, but I'd never actually gone out and tried it (besides paper airplanes and hats...but who hasn't tried those?). So I got home and opened it up, and immediately started the easy examples in the book. I have to admit that I did get a bit lost and confused at some points, and wasn't sure how certain things were supposed to fold, but in the end my origami almost looked like the ones in the book.

For those who might not know, origami is the Japanese art of folding paper into shapes representing objects (e.g., flowers or birds). Almost any object you can think of, you can make it with origami. Even objects such as envelopes, boxes, coasters, picture frames, bookmarks, photo albums, and much more can be made simply by folding paper. You can also make such animals as lions, ravens, giraffes, swans, and even cute little rabbits and penguins.
Searching websites online is a good way to discover new origami, or if you're stuck you can try looking up a different diagram for it, and in some cases even video's which show step by step how to complete certain pieces. Origami is also becoming more popular in the west, and there are a lot of bookstores and craft stores which sell origami paper, as well as books.

Origami Napkin Swan by rednmercedes.

History of Origami

The history of origami is under debate. Unlike other art forms, paper degrades quickly leaving no artifacts to suggest where origami originated and who first invented it. The information listed here provides a good overview of origami but is not an authorative analysis of the subject. For detailed information regarding the history of origami, consult the works of David Lister: The History of Origami in paperfolding.com and the Lister list from British Origami Society.

Textbooks will say that paper was first invented in China by Cai Lun (also written Ts'ai Lun) in 105 A.D. However, archeological evidence suggest that paper was invented even early than this. One can imagine that if there's paper, then the paper may have been folded as well. There is no evidence of this but, if it was true, then paper folding would have started here.

During the 6th century, paper was introduced into Japan. It is here that paper folding became an art form and evolved into what we know today as origami.

Initially, paper was expensive and therefore not available to the general public. Paper folding, was not a hobby: it was for formal functions. For example: "Origami Tsuki" was a folded piece of paper that accompanied a valuable gift and it served as a certificate of authenticity. "Noshi" was folded-paper that accompanied gifts and functioned as tokens of good fortune. "Tsutsumi" was formal gift wrappers. These ceremonial folds were simple and symbolized sincerity and purity. [Photo: noshi collection from the National Diet Library.

Paper folding also developed in Spain sometime between the 8th and 12th century. Historians believe that paper and paper-making was introduced into Europe from Asia via the Silk Route. It is not clear whether paper-folding was invented in Europe independently or if it was also introduced from Asia. Photo: "pajarita"

Paper folding was documented for the first time in 1797 in the book called “Folding of 1000 Cranes“ (Senbazuru Orikata). Next, was a series of books called “Window on Midwinter“ (Kan No Mado). These books were about Japanese customs and there is two sections on paper folding. [The name of these books was probably Kayaragusa]

By 1890's, the word origami was more or less officially used to refer to what we call as origami. Previous to this time, it was called "orikata", "orisue", "orimono", or "tatamigami".

In the 1950, Akira Yoshizana and Sam Randlett developed a standard set of origami symbols to describe how to fold paper into models. These symbols remained essentially the same and is used in origami diagrams today. [Note: David Lister suggests that it was Sam Randlett and Robert Harbin who formalized the use of the origami symbols.]

Currently, there are thousands of published origami books. The art form continues to evolve and is beyond the traditional origami that we think of. Origami styles and techniques include: technical origami, mathematical origami, contemporary origami, modular origami, wet folding origami, pureland origami, dollar bill origami, and business card origami.

Lovers on the Boat by rednmercedes.

History of Origami quoted from the Origami Resource Center.

Related Links:
Origami Club
Origami.com
Origami Instructions
Origamisan

Day One: Hi My Sweetheart

2010-01-02T17:11:00.003-07:00

Hi My Sweetheart Promotional Poster

Chen Bao Zhu, Xue Hai/Lin Da Lang

So, my first post for my project is about a Taiwanese drama called 'Hi My Sweetheart'. I've been watching it via Mysoju.com (Hi My Sweetheart videos linked at the bottom of the post in Related Links) since the beginning of December, and I'm completely hooked. Not only do I love Rainie's acting, and for my first time seeing Show Lo acting, I'm impressed by his as well. And of course, since I am a fan of the Pink Panther cartoons, I can't help but love Lin Da Lang and the shows Pink Panther dance.

There are a lot of little things that really make this show stand out to me, not just the acting, but also the soundtrack, the little animations and random comedic moments where Xue Hai is talking to himself and momentarily reverts back to his Lin Da Lang voice. All in all, I think it's a great show, and I can't wait until more episodes are out.You can read more below, or check out the links at the bottom of the post if you'd like to watch the episodes already out (the show is still airing on tv, so you can only watch up to episode 9 currently).

This part may contain spoilers!

'Hi My Sweetheart' is a funny and touching show about the sheltered geek Xue Hai (known as Lin Da Lang to his schoolmates) and his first love, the school bully Chen Bao Zhu. Chen Bao Zhu is a tough girl that nobody wants to be friends with, but the naive Xue Hai befriends her and begins to see a different side of Chen Bao Zhu that his schoolmates are unaware of. A few days before their graduation, Chen Bao Zhu is in a bad accident, and misunderstandings cause the two to lose contact. Thinking that he has been dumped by the love of his life, Xue Hai transforms himself into a playboy, and Chen Bao Zhu moves out on her own to Taiwan with the help of her high school senior, Yan Feng.

Details
Title: 海派甜心 / Hai Pai Tian Xin
English title: Hi My Sweetheart
Also known as: Play Boy and Sweetheart / Shanghai Sweetheart
Genre: Romance, comedy
Broadcast network: CTS / GTV
Broadcast period: 2009-Nov-01 to 2010
Air time: Sunday 22:00 - 23:30
Opening theme song: Head Over Heels in Love (愛瘋頭) by Show Lo
Ending theme song: Rain Love (雨愛) by Rainie Yang

Synopsis
Xue Hai was a certifiable dork when he first arrived in Shanghai. After his schoolmate Bao Zhu saved him from bullying, she became his first love. Then, a misunderstanding caused them to lose contact when she moved back to Taiwan. He thought she dumped him. So he transformed himself from a dork to a hunk in order to seek revenge.

Hi My Sweetheart Promotional Poster

Yan Feng, Chen Bao Zhu, Xue Hai/Lin Da Lang

Cast
Main Cast
Show Lo as Xue Hai / Lin Da Lang
Rainie Yang as Chen Bao Zhu
Lee Wei as He Yan Feng
Maggie Wu as Mo Li
Extended Cast
Nikki Deng as Wang Ye Qian
Zhang Yi Mei as Li Jia Jia
Fang Fang as Xue Bo
Xiang Yu Jie as Xue Pei
Wang Yue as Wang Yu Lan
Wen Shuai as Chen Run Fa
Jiang Qi Lin as Ba Shuang
Liu Rui as Wu Ke
Chen Bi Wei as Gao Gang
Yin Chong Zhen as Hui Min
Shi Zhen Long as A Gen
Xie Li Jin
Chocolate Lai

Production Credits
Producer: Chai Zhi Ping
Director: Lin He Long

What is the Year of Love Project?

2010-01-02T15:59:00.000-07:00

Simply put, I am going to write a blog post everyday for a year about something I love. After watching the movie Julie & Julia, and realizing I needed something to help me get away from the winter blues, I decided that a blog would be a good idea.

So everyday, I'll be making a post about something that makes me smile, laugh, feel excited, or cheer me up. It could be anything from a movie I can't get enough of, or a video game I've played so many times I had to buy a new copy after the original one. This is of course, a lot easier than cooking 500 and some recipes in a year, but for me I figure it's a good goal (and I really hate cooking, so thats out of the question). I also hope that in the process I'll be able to see life in a more positive light everyday, and get over my habit of procrastinating. Since if I just don't want to post for a day the project is well, doomed.