tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62244456317170746282024-03-04T21:53:09.347-08:00COOL ASIAN KIDSAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.comBlogger99125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224445631717074628.post-14740828277094983862016-02-25T13:50:00.001-08:002016-12-18T17:53:31.130-08:00Original Animation in Chinese With English Subtitles!<script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
<script>
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({
google_ad_client: "ca-pub-2235298929484154",
enable_page_level_ads: true
});
</script>
My classmates Ki Wi, Sandra and I made an animated movie for our Chinese 3 class at LACHSA. The title is Hole. The movie is in broken Chinese, with English subtitles. Enjoy!!! Laugh at our pronunciation if you must.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/26Cn2WlY-i4/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/26Cn2WlY-i4?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224445631717074628.post-59012237054599180882015-02-17T20:19:00.000-08:002017-08-05T00:12:42.296-07:00Take the Ukulele Seriously!<script async="" src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
<script>
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({
google_ad_client: "ca-pub-2235298929484154",
enable_page_level_ads: true
});
</script>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of ukuleles? For me, it was Spongebob. Or Hawaii. Or “cute.”</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-65c31c27-9567-c32b-6b91-cce08b65d729" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">These days, it’s <a amzn-ps-bm-asin="B000HIP44M" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="dcc6e61a7d9ca314cb52355f83547ddc" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Jake Shimabukuro" href="http://www.amazon.com/Gently-Weeps-Jake-Shimabukuro/dp/B000HIP44M/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=piggybank017-20&linkId=dcc6e61a7d9ca314cb52355f83547ddc&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_8793846" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jake Shimabukuro</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_8793846" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=piggybank017-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=dcc6e61a7d9ca314cb52355f83547ddc&_cb=1501917055247" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" />, the solo ukulele sensation whose music alters the way audiences and the general public perceive the ukulele and the kind of music it is capable of producing. If you aren’t already familiar with his work, watch the youtube video that started it all, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puSkP3uym5k" target="_blank">his cover of George Harrison’s “While My Guitar Gently Weeps.”</a> Or watch <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=snPQ1z5FoqQ" target="_blank">his incredible rendition of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”</a></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’d literally never taken the ukulele seriously as a musical instrument until I watched Jake Shimabukuro’s videos...and then I immediately stole my sister Chloe’s ukulele and taught myself how to play. I’ll never be as good as Shimabukuro, but at least I can goof around and play some songs.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_MoCaxAXZpMU4xKg-kC-DIejzUwNVC-g29urBaEY-ir6QV9caLedWLqdoh-YkC4dc7mC0VoBAErrBrsVjjd6Ul6VlUUdsca3iDfzQTboGdDki0r-DnYv3dtE3YUsibhj7_jFjtv2CKSnW/s1600/jake2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_MoCaxAXZpMU4xKg-kC-DIejzUwNVC-g29urBaEY-ir6QV9caLedWLqdoh-YkC4dc7mC0VoBAErrBrsVjjd6Ul6VlUUdsca3iDfzQTboGdDki0r-DnYv3dtE3YUsibhj7_jFjtv2CKSnW/s1600/jake2.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXrfVcIhqEVsL8QyyCPiJHGvEdCSF9OGbCrzy-6879b7daaovghqRewZ2PtUOyVRWQgfmP6hodHGI6ZgP7ReTqpMuUsojHwjv1zYh__WJIUeeMFCFdsliLQVAb78P1jRrQ_4V7xITdARfQ/s1600/jake1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXrfVcIhqEVsL8QyyCPiJHGvEdCSF9OGbCrzy-6879b7daaovghqRewZ2PtUOyVRWQgfmP6hodHGI6ZgP7ReTqpMuUsojHwjv1zYh__WJIUeeMFCFdsliLQVAb78P1jRrQ_4V7xITdARfQ/s1600/jake1.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Chloe and I had the great pleasure of watching him perform live at the <a href="http://janm.org/" target="_blank">Japanese American National Museum</a> in Little Tokyo a few months ago while he and director Tadashi Nakamura were promoting the documentary detailing his progression as a ukulele player, </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><a href="http://www.lifeonfourstrings.com/" target="_blank">Life on Four Strings.</a> </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The event started off with a screening of the documentary, which beautifully captured Shimabukuro’s struggle to discover his own sound and identity through his music while trying to build and maintain relationships with his family. This was followed by a panel discussion featuring both Shimabukuro and Nakamura about their experience shooting the documentary, during which there were definitely some funny stories (I want to see a blooper reel now). Shimabukuro looks </span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: italic; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">so young</span><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"> in person! And he’s such a sweet guy, we were totally fangirling over him.</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1KueHpaokyM8eT00yRp5u7E3e-XIOkatfMZr-qUdvoo9lbQFkqbPd4fbk68QGuW5wzYGu9yeJVmDGHKJSf4W2dzM03MFoiiAVmUJZShjTV9O9taDpNQ1wshDrBQe_O-pKLs_May5A3JgS/s1600/jake+and+me.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1KueHpaokyM8eT00yRp5u7E3e-XIOkatfMZr-qUdvoo9lbQFkqbPd4fbk68QGuW5wzYGu9yeJVmDGHKJSf4W2dzM03MFoiiAVmUJZShjTV9O9taDpNQ1wshDrBQe_O-pKLs_May5A3JgS/s1600/jake+and+me.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’ll be honest: Chloe and I went mainly because we wanted to hear Shimabukuro play ukulele, but the documentary and the panel discussion were a wonderful treat. Of course, we were so thrilled to watch his live performance, in which he played a number of original pieces as well as “While my Ukulele Gently Weeps.” We even got to meet him and have him sign our cell phones afterwards (if I’d known he was doing a signing after the performance, I would have brought my ukulele for him to sign). He’s such a nice guy!</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ultimately, watching the documentary and seeing him in the flesh made me realize that he’s not just a talented guy, he’s a real person who worked really hard to get to where he is. So if you’re looking for a new inspiration and haven’t already listened to a few of <a amzn-ps-bm-asin="B01AAWHPGE" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="27d72498bf4ae5957b7b131e1414530b" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Jake Shimabukuro’s tracks" href="http://www.amazon.com/Bohemian-Rhapsody/dp/B01AAWHPGE/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=piggybank017-20&linkId=27d72498bf4ae5957b7b131e1414530b&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_6159690" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Jake Shimabukuro’s tracks</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_6159690" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=piggybank017-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=27d72498bf4ae5957b7b131e1414530b&_cb=1501917147979" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" />, I recommend you do so right now.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Cheers! :)</span></div>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: "arial"; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oh, and sorry for taking so long to update—I started college in the fall and I’ve been super busy trying to get a handle on things, but expect more regular posts in the future!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224445631717074628.post-15896452705720114372014-06-22T21:37:00.001-07:002016-12-18T17:56:37.058-08:00I almost forgot Godzilla was from Asia!<script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
<script>
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({
google_ad_client: "ca-pub-2235298929484154",
enable_page_level_ads: true
});
</script>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A few weeks ago, Chloe and I went to watch the new <i>Godzilla</i>, which our parents had already seen and liked.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you aren't familiar with Godzilla, it is a giant, dinosaur-like monster that first came about in Japanese films in the 1950s. It has since become an international popular culture icon, becoming the star in numerous film adaptations, comic books, TV shows, and video games. The premise of the new film: two ancient monsters called Mutos are awakened and begin wreaking havoc around the world in order to accomplish their main goal of reproducing. Godzilla is supposedly the heroic, god-like creature meant to come in and take these Mutos down for the purpose of restoring the natural balance of the world. Ford Brody, the main human protagonist, takes it upon himself to protect U.S. from the Mutos.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqfYNTqAardhcO6da1b8ZaI8D7ZmOb3cJoHzxFSZCrv7LyroRGLcK-MW62lpnmdkg2ZZ20T5p0cmDe0Z7RfCxoChir4X9dxprH-Z-esK1NC4vEoecHhpB9uS8hY-nplUTQJUQdg1kzHXC/s1600/godzillz.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicqfYNTqAardhcO6da1b8ZaI8D7ZmOb3cJoHzxFSZCrv7LyroRGLcK-MW62lpnmdkg2ZZ20T5p0cmDe0Z7RfCxoChir4X9dxprH-Z-esK1NC4vEoecHhpB9uS8hY-nplUTQJUQdg1kzHXC/s1600/godzillz.jpg" height="400" width="260"></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The funny thing here is that the franchise originated in Japan. I actually haven't seen any of the old movies, but I'm going to assume that they—at least the Japanese ones—don't use Japan and its people as merely the backdrop against which white protagonists can shine and save the day. And that's essentially what the new film does: the main character, Ford Brody, is a white man who heroically fights to destroy the Mutos. He knows a little more about the Mutos because his father was obsessed with researching them, but where are all the Japanese characters who researched them, too? Nonexistent, really—except for Dr. Ishiro Serizawa, one of the members of a monster research group.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The funny thing about Dr. Serizawa is that he doesn't really DO anything. He says some of the key lines in the film, like: "[Godzilla] will restore the balance," and "The arrogance of men is thinking nature is in their control and not the other way around," and "Let them fight" (referring to Godzilla and the Mutos). I honestly think I might have heard those lines in <i>Avatar: The Last Airbender—</i>that's how much they seem like the stereotypical "Asian words of wisdom." Except that's basically all Serizawa's character does. He doesn't even really contribute anything substantial to the research about the Mutos.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_6kU2vDyYYCJ9Rwl24MX32oS26YKtoZaVR90uuCTxMQv4MdET552-Z48wLHxMqKEN7P48xq7ToyoYBe2uxBiva2rZFoKIeCkRX-RV2REQ0FpbLFZ5GiaF9h5iD30EABw7qX3rnEDfJfb/s1600/godzilla.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx_6kU2vDyYYCJ9Rwl24MX32oS26YKtoZaVR90uuCTxMQv4MdET552-Z48wLHxMqKEN7P48xq7ToyoYBe2uxBiva2rZFoKIeCkRX-RV2REQ0FpbLFZ5GiaF9h5iD30EABw7qX3rnEDfJfb/s1600/godzilla.gif" height="166" width="400"></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">None of this is to say the film wasn't enjoyable to watch—it was. I will say it was kind of sad that the Mutos died, because they were actually pretty cute when they weren't viciously attacking Godzilla. And there were a lot of things that didn't make sense. But if you're looking for a fun science-fiction movie to watch, this is a good one.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224445631717074628.post-36671608442077934482014-04-25T15:23:00.000-07:002014-04-25T15:44:33.494-07:00Our First Pet Rabbit Jason Sr.Around 10 years ago, we found Jason hopping on the street and brought him home. Later, we placed flyers all over the neighborhood and found his owner, but she decided that she didn't want him back after all, so we kept him. He was the best pet bunny.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrb0gweZ5EfenpLnqt2wwq24ZeLBVKJ5sfhe9ML5s21xHqHzQatPa3H2MsshbefDizd4SifSi2p0zfpbcmPcsq6MJCgxAff4g3SlYnMWKUU4A6_CwJnhblrmB8N-4IGJ_TwUI3BauAlRAa/s1600/Jason+Senior+rolling+ball.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrb0gweZ5EfenpLnqt2wwq24ZeLBVKJ5sfhe9ML5s21xHqHzQatPa3H2MsshbefDizd4SifSi2p0zfpbcmPcsq6MJCgxAff4g3SlYnMWKUU4A6_CwJnhblrmB8N-4IGJ_TwUI3BauAlRAa/s1600/Jason+Senior+rolling+ball.gif" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
Jason had a strange un rabbit-like habit of rolling the beach ball around.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224445631717074628.post-52489588624002917522014-04-14T23:13:00.001-07:002014-04-14T23:15:26.742-07:00Blood Moon aka Tax Day Lunar EclipseI don't know about you, dear followers, but I'm really excited about this lunar eclipse. It's going to be the first total lunar eclipse in a while and frankly the first one I'll ever see in the young 15 years I've been alive. While kids my age are freaking out about Coachella, or just recently getting back from the hectic music festival, my friend and I are researching charts and articles to send to eachother and basically anything else having to do with this "Blood Moon". (I know, we're pretty nerdy) I'll be able to see the eclipse tonight (April 14) to early morning (April 15). If it's cloudy outside, NASA will have live <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html#.U0zKi-ZdWjI" target="_blank">coverage</a> during the eclipse so you can still watch this rare event! IT'S HAPPENING RIGHT NOW SO GO WATCH QUICKLY. THE LIVE STREAM IS EQUALLY COOL AND THEY'rE PLAYING RAD MUSIC TO GO WITH IT if YOU FEEL like you're missing out!<br />
<br />
I'm sorry this is really spazzy and most likely badly written, but I need to go watch the eclipse now. Basically the the moon will be covered by the Earth's shadow/umbra and the United States won't be able to witness this again until 2019. I'll update this more after the eclipse and fix anything later!<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGEzVmimWm-ztcH1oRdV2CPhudEqKQ8HklEAAaatisToTzRxi_0NarH514AR6QoHkcYkzMwUXUVQDLGfexCNJ_gLTZZW8fhooWep8_Y73KoELsU8Visnbqjf98upKzW_t21UcLCPquxioS/s1600/blood+moon+blog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGEzVmimWm-ztcH1oRdV2CPhudEqKQ8HklEAAaatisToTzRxi_0NarH514AR6QoHkcYkzMwUXUVQDLGfexCNJ_gLTZZW8fhooWep8_Y73KoELsU8Visnbqjf98upKzW_t21UcLCPquxioS/s1600/blood+moon+blog.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<span id="goog_497886122"></span><span id="goog_497886123"></span><br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224445631717074628.post-62798646618492740182014-03-13T11:55:00.000-07:002016-12-18T23:52:45.568-08:00Hot Pot!
<script async src="//pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/js/adsbygoogle.js"></script>
<!-- coolasiankids_sidebar-right-1_AdSense1_1x1_as -->
<ins class="adsbygoogle"
style="display:block"
data-ad-client="ca-pub-2235298929484154"
data-ad-slot="2061856020"
data-ad-format="auto"></ins>
<script>
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
</script>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Dad’s been on a business trip in Taiwan since last week; he’s been sending us pictures of all the delicious food he’s been eating! We were getting a little jealous, and finally my mom decided to take us out to dinner at a Taiwanese restaurant she’d heard about in San Gabriel Valley. After driving around and using my phone’s GPS to find the place, we arrived to discover that it was...closed. </span></span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-89639e1b-b9e5-a1d9-4f5e-fc2518e32502" style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">My mom decided to try a different Taiwanese restaurant nearby that she remembered going to. It was located in a plaza that we go to all the time for vegetarian Chinese cuisine, but we hadn’t really been to any of the other restaurants there in a while. As it turned out, the last time my mom had been to the Taiwanese restaurant was years ago—and the restaurant closed down recently.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As we were headed back to the car, we noticed a Mongolian Hot Pot restaurant called <a href="http://www.littlesheephotpot.com/" target="_blank">Little Sheep</a>. I’ve always been a fan of Mongolian BBQ, and we occasionally make our own hot pot at home, so we decided to try it out.</span></span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span></b>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVsDWUS2YWVlsj-XoBCZm5rvouFXhOdTEdYDRFU8qDjHAyH9vwK2lR8eHH6IXXT3xygM7UeIwGXR0oMElf4kZvqVVlucBVqdeOKurdXSmds5ENe5G8ep03D_p8zIdRFRWafhfDRm-7du-u/s1600/hotpot2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVsDWUS2YWVlsj-XoBCZm5rvouFXhOdTEdYDRFU8qDjHAyH9vwK2lR8eHH6IXXT3xygM7UeIwGXR0oMElf4kZvqVVlucBVqdeOKurdXSmds5ENe5G8ep03D_p8zIdRFRWafhfDRm-7du-u/s1600/hotpot2.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I can assure you it tastes a lot better than it looks.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Basically, you order a bunch of meat and vegetables to be cooked in a giant pot of hot broth; everyone has a bowl to mix their own sauces in (I like to mix hot sauce, soy sauce, and garlic sauce), and then you dip the meat/vegetables in the sauce. My new favorite is taro—it takes a while to cook and soften, but it’s delicious.</span></span></div>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfrQNjTJTOQhCBx7mIV8bV9FgHqQ_ivUVzZ1GvvHEjVn-jraqIvDukxVB_2FINIj2Cqer6CdyCoofDIyMV8kgdgA6UFSYyrdL-aL5gkddIUCmYZaBzpbDjx1XZ8lJBEriHSAz9M-p9_Qmi/s1600/hotpot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfrQNjTJTOQhCBx7mIV8bV9FgHqQ_ivUVzZ1GvvHEjVn-jraqIvDukxVB_2FINIj2Cqer6CdyCoofDIyMV8kgdgA6UFSYyrdL-aL5gkddIUCmYZaBzpbDjx1XZ8lJBEriHSAz9M-p9_Qmi/s1600/hotpot.jpg" width="298" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Taro (yum!) and some other vegetables to cook in the hot pot.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">At the end, you can even mix some of the broth in with your sauce and drink it that way. It’s a fantastic way to enjoy a meal with a group of people.</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></span>
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">...Not so much with just 3 people (me, my mom, and my sister). We ate a little too much and spent a little too much. Still worth it.</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224445631717074628.post-19307320300669295472014-01-25T23:21:00.002-08:002014-01-27T10:38:04.238-08:00Introducing Visual Novels!<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">My sister and I have always really enjoyed video games. I'm by no means a gamer girl, but I can be sucked into the worlds of <i>League of Legends </i>(biggest time-killer ever) and <i>Super Paper Mario </i>(my life in middle school) for hours at a time.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">While I do love me a good action role-playing-game, I've recently gotten into visual novels. Popular in Japan, they haven't really made a big splash in the U.S. yet. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Visual novels are basically a cross between choose-your-own adventure books and video games, so I get the satisfaction of reading a book and the fun of playing a video game.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> They're usually narrated in first-person perspective. The artwork is often done in an anime-style, but that's not always the case—especially in the visual novels that are being produced by western indie developers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Read on for a list of some of my favorite visual novels by genre, which I'll probably add to in the future:</span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6224445631717074628#sci_fi">Sci-fi</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6224445631717074628#mystery">Mystery</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6224445631717074628#drama_romance">Drama/Romance</a></span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6224445631717074628#free_games">Free Games</a></span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6224445631717074628" name="sci_fi">Sci-Fi</a></u></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><u><a href="http://zeiva.net/otome/area_x_story.html">Area-X</a></u></span> - a science-fiction/mystery visual novel by Zeiva Inc., a game developer that was founded and is run by two people (they're awesome and I'm jealous of their artistic and programming skills). Area-X is about Elcia, a time-traveler from the future, and her efforts to unravel the mystery of her past. Along the way, she meets and interacts with various characters from different time periods, and depending on your choices throughout the story, the plot varies tremendously. The plot is well-written, incredibly complicated, and well-thought out; you get a lot of twists and turns, and it keeps you on your toes. I <i>love</i> the artwork and the music, too. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It's a little pricey at $25, but you can play the demo <a href="http://zeiva.net/otome/area_x_game_demo.html" target="_blank">here.</a> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs8m5lSFn7dDW_iO1DM9t-HT8tVGcAmOT7TxiVCRhIseN8pi1FHQioVtyMryYNnl-JZi4TFLqKHWiUPDWi6kThy5hiWnPDG_hcXKUibQQAESDw2d1HgLCEI2f5F5_kfhKRZT43ll1xSA35/s1600/area-x.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhs8m5lSFn7dDW_iO1DM9t-HT8tVGcAmOT7TxiVCRhIseN8pi1FHQioVtyMryYNnl-JZi4TFLqKHWiUPDWi6kThy5hiWnPDG_hcXKUibQQAESDw2d1HgLCEI2f5F5_kfhKRZT43ll1xSA35/s1600/area-x.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Screenshot of the main menu from Zeiva Inc's <i>Area-X</i>.</span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://dysfunctionalsystems.com/" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Dysfunctional Systems</a> - Another science-fiction visual novel about Winter, a student mediator who travels between worlds and planets in order to restore peace to them. It's a pretty unique story that's broken up into episodes. So far, only the first episode is released, but it's only $5 on the iTunes store and the graphics and interface are well worth the cost. Check out the ridiculously awesome video intro below:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/2Ho1vyo8lKk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Isn't the animation great? And that music!</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><u><a href="http://www.winterwolves.com/bionicheart2.htm" target="_blank">Bionic Heart 2</a></u></b> - A visual novel set in the future that switches between the perspectives of four different main characters: Luke Black, Tanya Vanic (a cyborg!), Tom Sparks, and Tina Gomez. On Mars, you follow Luke and Tom as they try to live as fugitives on the Mars colony. On Earth, you follow Tanya, an outlawed cyborg, and Tina, a police officer, as they work together to bring down Nanotech, a research company with a diabolical leader. The game was produced by <a href="http://www.winterwolves.com/" target="_blank">Winter Wolves</a>, one of the leading western visual novel developers.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This would be a lot easier to explain if you knew about the first game, <b>Bionic Heart</b>, which I haven't even played. I probably should get around to doing that—but Bionic Heart 2 is a great game on its own. The free demo is pretty lengthy and should give you a good idea of what the story and gameplay are like.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwXyUlvErLNoFwJatRjtdADkO7Z9asKWKaCqf9VxZPiwFoIQ5WN8_ix96a1Wr5N4s_FwMICBnqcW2D9vs_aKxLpXUdVez5KMIi3ak4t_kpwOgyTgYRuyRY97INqWEBmQkI-tbEFglKenw0/s1600/bionic+heart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwXyUlvErLNoFwJatRjtdADkO7Z9asKWKaCqf9VxZPiwFoIQ5WN8_ix96a1Wr5N4s_FwMICBnqcW2D9vs_aKxLpXUdVez5KMIi3ak4t_kpwOgyTgYRuyRY97INqWEBmQkI-tbEFglKenw0/s1600/bionic+heart.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A screenshot from <i>Bionic Heart 2</i>.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><u><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6224445631717074628#mystery" name="mystery">Mystery</a></u></b></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.sakevisual.com/jisei/index.html" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Jisei</a> - The first of a series of mystery visual novels, Jisei follows a male protagonist who has the ability to experience the death of any corpse he touches. When he accidentally comes across a dead woman, he's suddenly framed for the murder. The story is about his efforts to prove himself innocent by tracking down the real murderer.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Jisei was produced by <a href="http://sakevisual.com/" target="_blank">Sakevisual</a>, another leading visual novel developer in the West. It currently has two sequels, <a href="http://www.sakevisual.com/kansei/" target="_blank">Kansei</a> and <a href="http://www.sakevisual.com/yousei/" target="_blank">Yousei</a>. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdlX4FFW5UpcddCTQQpzisy0XBfYa_9aAeLP13y-Ats_L0FBcfNqxKQF7TxTC_WGJtt8HpzE1SN_g7iiW72_JN2p5NAnAbRlyYou8M1iG3JfyNbOBR2lU2hmyvpscHSnGVtLCab-1OpVQ/s1600/jisei.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHdlX4FFW5UpcddCTQQpzisy0XBfYa_9aAeLP13y-Ats_L0FBcfNqxKQF7TxTC_WGJtt8HpzE1SN_g7iiW72_JN2p5NAnAbRlyYou8M1iG3JfyNbOBR2lU2hmyvpscHSnGVtLCab-1OpVQ/s1600/jisei.jpg" height="320" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Poster from Sakevisual's <i>Jisei</i>.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><u><a href="http://zeiva.net/otome/x_note_story.html" target="_blank">X-Note</a></u></b> - also by Zeiva Inc., X-note is set after Area-X (the prequel) and follows Essi, a young girl with psychic abilities, who is recruited to help investigate a murder and a number of disappearances at the Xen Institute, a local school. As Essi learns more about the history of the school and the disappearances, she also uncovers information about her mother's death. Along the way, she encounters a number of different characters. Depending on the route you choose and the choices you make throughout, you can reveal different pieces of the mystery. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-gC7yN5yJg3sc0z7j7JThG2otj3fCgYCeB1SCvSRq0eAOlvVFDHy3-qo0stSC9laUJHddBoUoE5t-ErBBaXGhDTkCo_-ACF_FlOZHK9EyaOkGIlZteLFz6Nd1RQa9-7NSVAKwWE9VpeK/s1600/xnote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7-gC7yN5yJg3sc0z7j7JThG2otj3fCgYCeB1SCvSRq0eAOlvVFDHy3-qo0stSC9laUJHddBoUoE5t-ErBBaXGhDTkCo_-ACF_FlOZHK9EyaOkGIlZteLFz6Nd1RQa9-7NSVAKwWE9VpeK/s1600/xnote.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Promotional artwork for Zeiva Inc's <i>X-Note</i>.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.winterwolves.com/nicole.htm" style="font-weight: bold; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">Nicole</a> - another game by Winter Wolves but entirely different from <i>Bionic Heart</i>, <i>Nicole</i> is about college freshman Nicole as she meets guys at school and attempts to investigate a number of students' mysterious disappearances around campus. While its central plot is about the mystery, <i>Nicole</i> is arguably just as much a dating sim as it is anything else (meaning you have to raise different stats to pursue different male characters). Still, the story is interesting and I think it's worth taking a look at before you dismiss it as a typical dating sim.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You can try the free demo on Winter Wolves' website or buy the game for $20.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoslX3EXjcXEct_xgsxm8qbFgAik8LhGgFh1jhSoWz45vWP5VvDbsPHUSRdZySaYZl7zKgbEMbUDMo6KKzRf9w8V77IYEnjUiSSyM_DcUA9Mc7ksol7WYwt69Jqa2XhvtAXI76D0N9JHhR/s1600/nicole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoslX3EXjcXEct_xgsxm8qbFgAik8LhGgFh1jhSoWz45vWP5VvDbsPHUSRdZySaYZl7zKgbEMbUDMo6KKzRf9w8V77IYEnjUiSSyM_DcUA9Mc7ksol7WYwt69Jqa2XhvtAXI76D0N9JHhR/s1600/nicole.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Screenshot from <i>Nicole.</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u><a href="https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6224445631717074628#drama_romance" name="drama_romance"><b>Drama/Romance</b></a></u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">In case you don't mind playing a few visual novels that involve actively pursuing romantic interests (don't worry, I picked ones with good plots), you can try these out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><u style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.winterwolves.com/summerinfairbrook.htm" target="_blank">Summer in Fairbrook</a></u> - yet another game produced by Winter Wolves! It's about Steve McFarland, a young college student whose grades, love life, and general approach to things are kind of a mess. His dad sends him to work on his uncle's farm in a small town called Fairbrook, where he's supposed to build character. While he's there, he ends up meeting a bunch of different pursuable girls. The artwork is adorable (and the artist is the same person who did the art for the <i>Jisei</i> series).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">This is definitely a stats-based dating sim, so it can get a little repetitive. Depending on the choices you make, you can unlock different scenes and endings for each character.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You can download the demo for free or buy the game ($20 for Mac, Windows, and Linux, $6.99 for Android).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0HGXQuGbL8Od3ScEI7ERCjY9w_GXbmbNET9VgCroR5O_YLMTPzGdOeG0kB-Jqqch-fTphemgDqoFm1n-axlOsT1wxOk1zJ_pUvorKomzqLZV3v9Q3MNJeItTsy2hz1GuVQxrMAPVp9PxX/s1600/FlowerShop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0HGXQuGbL8Od3ScEI7ERCjY9w_GXbmbNET9VgCroR5O_YLMTPzGdOeG0kB-Jqqch-fTphemgDqoFm1n-axlOsT1wxOk1zJ_pUvorKomzqLZV3v9Q3MNJeItTsy2hz1GuVQxrMAPVp9PxX/s1600/FlowerShop.jpg" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Promotional image from <i>The Flower Shop</i>.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><u style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.winterwolves.com/winterinfairbrook.htm" target="_blank">Winter in Fairbrook</a></u> - set in the same town as <i>Summer in Fairbrook </i>and including a few of the same characters, <i>Winter in Fairbrook</i> is about Natalie, a college student who needs a summer job and ends up working at a flower shop in the town of Fairbrook. There, Natalie meets a number of different pursuable guys. Like <i>Summer in Fairbrook</i>, this is more a dating-sim than it is a visual novel, so it involves raising stats more than it does making choices that alter the plot. Depending on the choices you make and the stats you raise, you can unlock different scenes and endings for each character.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">I personally thought this game was adorable—the character designs are great, and the music is very relaxing. The way the story is written makes it very cozy and enjoyable, and the characters are all very likable (I <i>love</i> Natalie; she's hilarious!). It's written by Ayu Sakata, founder of <a href="http://sakevisual.com/" target="_blank">Sakevisual</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">You can download the free demo from the website or from the Google Play Store, or you can buy it ($20 for Mac, Windows, and Linux, and $9.99 for Android from the Google Play Store).</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxd8ibF-AdU99Y5APuIkMm2nSDZ-RBW7I4YPbidLSfk5K8o37sbRh7dZ1GBIh62liGZDK_osTna0dKAA4UsCNBvpxNw8ualw0DctchZmbNtyBctMmvrKoVLGA_rmpqGFK6s8apoWNjGVNy/s1600/winterinfairbrook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxd8ibF-AdU99Y5APuIkMm2nSDZ-RBW7I4YPbidLSfk5K8o37sbRh7dZ1GBIh62liGZDK_osTna0dKAA4UsCNBvpxNw8ualw0DctchZmbNtyBctMmvrKoVLGA_rmpqGFK6s8apoWNjGVNy/s1600/winterinfairbrook.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Illustration from <i>Winter in Fairbrook</i>.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u><a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="free_games"><b>Free Games</b></a></u></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif; font-size: large;"><u><br /></u></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A lot of Western indie visual novel developers break into the business by releasing some free titles, and a lot of them are very good. Try these out if you want to get a sense of what visual novels are like without having to purchase anything. You should also try demos of commercial games.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><u style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.sakevisual.com/realistair/" target="_blank">RE: Alistair++</a></u> - A short, fun visual novel by <a href="http://sakevisual.com/" target="_blank">Sakevisual</a> about Merui, a girl who loves playing an online RPG called Rivenwell Online, where she meets an obnoxious player under the screen name of Alistair. When she figures out that he is a student at her school, she winds up betting him that she'll be able to figure out who he is. Throughout the story, she interacts with 3 male characters, each of whom could be the mysterious Alistair. It's more a dating sim than it is a true visual novel, but it's quirky, cute, well-illustrated, and well-written. It's worth trying out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhamN-1992XmaFjDZD9K-BhVgIeyiHJee6UYud0L8_bBULsDZxQ0aRHi4fiphY8uxPZ5J1S4LfJhmVrpWG_XZ8FvpKST4J7xr-s9VjloHFwTQ8UtQsHYrzcglqsqCoEDbbUPiw-nKIupkcq/s1600/realistairbanner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhamN-1992XmaFjDZD9K-BhVgIeyiHJee6UYud0L8_bBULsDZxQ0aRHi4fiphY8uxPZ5J1S4LfJhmVrpWG_XZ8FvpKST4J7xr-s9VjloHFwTQ8UtQsHYrzcglqsqCoEDbbUPiw-nKIupkcq/s1600/realistairbanner.jpg" height="128" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Promotional image for <i>RE: Alistair++</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><u style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://lemmasoft.renai.us/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=19616" target="_blank">The Dolls' Stories</a></u> - a very short visual novel with a unique premise: you live in a world in which soldiers can raise and train ceramic, humanlike dolls to help enforce laws and keep the peace within the city. Playing as a soldier, you can choose to raise either a male or a female doll, each of which has a different route. The artwork is <i>gorgeous</i> and the story is both action-packed and dramatic.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG2hkaTbenD2lRhQLi8Qxx5mr9J1yUDpZa3pcoZWnfXQgVGtx26JCP4BBH06iOTmmPajnNWMfnqNLj7PYypWDhxWpj11ciG43fL_wFGpSxfT7W6bSqSlLIBIpgHKfV7306uwP3tStr8IKC/s1600/dollsstorries.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG2hkaTbenD2lRhQLi8Qxx5mr9J1yUDpZa3pcoZWnfXQgVGtx26JCP4BBH06iOTmmPajnNWMfnqNLj7PYypWDhxWpj11ciG43fL_wFGpSxfT7W6bSqSlLIBIpgHKfV7306uwP3tStr8IKC/s1600/dollsstorries.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Main menu of <i>The Dolls' Stories</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">That's all for now! I'll come back to update this at some point.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><br /></span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224445631717074628.post-31425715552580702162013-12-05T20:53:00.002-08:002013-12-07T21:06:06.493-08:00All the Big Events During the Holiday Season<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
This holiday season will probably be the best time of the year for me because of all the things I'm looking forward to. Most of it has to do with relatively (okay very) nerdy things, such as movies, television series release dates, conventions, etc...yet I'm also just looking forward to the fact that it's around holiday time and that I'm almost finished with my first semester with barely any issues, if any at all. I'm looking forward to break.<br />
<br />
When I do get free time, a lot of it is spent on being excited about the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary movie, <a href="http://www.bbcamerica.com/doctor-who/guide/50th-specials/the-day-of-the-doctor/">The Day of the Doctor</a>. You can see the exciting trailers for The Day of the Doctor <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mkq8pnvsnQg">here</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7z6FMCqYrBo">here</a>.
There were at least four doctors in this one episode (Tennant,
Smith, Hurt, Capaldi). It's a really big deal (at least in my opinion) especially with it showing in theaters
for the first time. I could barely get tickets because most were sold out. In the end, I had to sit in the second row from the screen in the Century City AMC. But still, the movie was great.<br />
<br />
Before that, I went to a <a href="http://creationent.com/cal/supernatural_toronto.htm">Supernatural Convention</a>, which was my very first TV series specific nerd fan convention. It was as amazing as everyone insisted it was going to be. I made fan buttons and gave one to Misha Collins. I had a photo op with him too. By the way, I met <a href="http://www.osricchau.com/">Osric Chau</a>, the Asian American actor who has appeared on Supernatural this season. He was so cool and funny, and extremely nice to chat with me and my friend. I got his autograph too.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_lojHVX7fW0fMkKYu2Mk0bRrqbZjSByQonRmKFghbPvC_kZfI1ulXy15H7KMg2z135-BtotSSEmKCcOHURtJUFvCK1B7C7WwmD9NbQB96PkoHi0B-LpqmcquayTl5EOfp5W_9QTFZzrt/s1600/osric.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-_lojHVX7fW0fMkKYu2Mk0bRrqbZjSByQonRmKFghbPvC_kZfI1ulXy15H7KMg2z135-BtotSSEmKCcOHURtJUFvCK1B7C7WwmD9NbQB96PkoHi0B-LpqmcquayTl5EOfp5W_9QTFZzrt/s320/osric.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Osric Chau</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<a href="http://www.thehungergamesexplorer.com/us/epk/hunger-games/">The Hunger Game (Catching Fire)</a> started, and The Hobbit, Part 2, and BBC's Sherlock season 3 will be starting soon. "Truly, the tales and songs fall utterly short of your enormity, oh
Smaug the stupendous," says Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) in The
Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPVWy1tFXuc">trailer</a>.
That basically got me hooked, and after seeing the first movie I want to see the second one with Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman,
both which are some of my favorite actors. (If I haven't mentioned
already.)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3z6AqJZh3ft_uQRmi_F41lJL3Nf9dFA5n4a5ONR1zH-dRHtsJrYJ9gzVeE_Hg0p8WF1HlYW6l2_Qdn5Eo1B6Q8au_XoN6qqtggyjLXN22IboFlTCz4ir2OcqqFF49eQQOGjucAvLfu8Tj/s1600/finnick.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3z6AqJZh3ft_uQRmi_F41lJL3Nf9dFA5n4a5ONR1zH-dRHtsJrYJ9gzVeE_Hg0p8WF1HlYW6l2_Qdn5Eo1B6Q8au_XoN6qqtggyjLXN22IboFlTCz4ir2OcqqFF49eQQOGjucAvLfu8Tj/s320/finnick.jpg" width="198" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finnick, a new character in the Hunger Games series.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I saw <a href="http://marvel.com/thor">Thor: The Dark World</a> the other day with my mom as well. Loki (Tom Hiddleston)
was personally my favorite character, and perhaps one of the most
intelligent in comparison to the other characters.<br />
<br />
<br />
I've been also pretty hyped up because of <a href="http://coolasiankids.blogspot.com/2013/08/bakuman.html">Bakuman</a> (which my sister recommended a while ago in one of our blogs, yet I've just started).<br />
Other mangas and animes I've been reading/watching include, <a href="http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/tv_shows/adventuretime/">Adventure Time</a> on Cartoon Network, (I know some of the artists who are doing the animation there!), the debut of the new Cartoon Network show (which is reallllyyyy cute looking) <a href="http://www.cartoonnetwork.com/tv_shows/steven-universe/video/index.html">Steven Universe</a>, <a href="http://www.crunchyroll.com/attack-on-titan">Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin</a>...which is personally one of my favorites, yet my mom disagrees), and hearing more about Bryan Lee O'Malley's secretive <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Seconds-by-Bryan-Lee-OMalley/131266580295237">Seconds</a> comic he's working on. (Author of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World)<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihdfQZOPvcCf3uFhEbUTq1DTckuIT4xsfAadzUBWLQOAsDH12GaVQgW5UlqsoftcwJTnLdkt7IwfWCzrfh3CgmfBrv1roI_AEMzQe77N5sD7KamDRL_xc9tuBcG9wgYbNOEkycokjZ8M5L/s1600/seconds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="241" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihdfQZOPvcCf3uFhEbUTq1DTckuIT4xsfAadzUBWLQOAsDH12GaVQgW5UlqsoftcwJTnLdkt7IwfWCzrfh3CgmfBrv1roI_AEMzQe77N5sD7KamDRL_xc9tuBcG9wgYbNOEkycokjZ8M5L/s320/seconds.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seconds by Brian Lee O'Malley</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
A lot of these events is to take my mind off of highschool and art. It seems to be working since it seems to be all I can think and talk about as the year comes to an end.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224445631717074628.post-89747397064105153742013-11-25T16:49:00.000-08:002013-11-26T10:13:06.849-08:00A Role Model for All of Us: Malala YousafzaiFor one of the college applications I am working on, I had to write about someone I'd like to hear speak. It's an easy choice this year: Malala Yousafzai. This is what I wrote in part:
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img border="0" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW4pg1ic5bbu8y6ZMFFy6MY4iL3apqpWPO5tVxmWq5yzXdn2vdAasmMk262YtKiLSudPIsfJe6Xw6lIwzD_eH-4yr5aDCehWEgfUSwH9JIMFXRfa29wJjkqGCMnczm1sohdQED9WRaI0A4/s320/malala.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="320" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Malala Yousafzai<br />
</div>
On October 9 2012, a bearded man climbed aboard a bus full of schoolchildren and shot 16-year-old Malala Yousafzai in the head. The gunman was a Taliban assailant, sent to assassinate the girl for speaking against the Taliban’s denial of education to women. Now, only a little over a year after waking up from her coma, Malala is far from being silenced—she has become a teenage icon of purpose and bravery, continuing to speak out in support of universal access to education. <br />
<br />
As a teenager attending a private school, I often forget how privileged I am to be receiving an education, and I take it for granted. Sometimes I feel as though I go to school only to please my parents or to work towards a far-off goal of getting a well-paying job. I often feel that our education system teaches us how to fit into society rather than how to make a difference, and sometimes I wonder how I can make an impact in a world that is constantly changing. <br />
<br />
Upon seeing an interview of Malala, however, a girl who is younger than I am, I came to understand that I am fortunate enough to receive an education—something for which people have to fight and are willing to die. Malala’s fight for universal access to education makes me realize that education should be a fundamental human right, and that we who are privileged enough to have access to education should make the most of it and have the courage to speak up in shaping a better world.
<br />
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-indent: 36pt;">
<br /></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 16px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/gjGL6YY6oMs?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
In the news last week, I read that the Taliban chose as head of the Pakistani Taliban, Mullah Fazlullah, the same person who ordered the attack on Malala a year ago. I can’t help but fear for Malala’s safety, but I also know that those forces that seek to suppress universal access to education will have an incredibly powerful adversary in the form of Malala, a teenager like myself, who speaks up for what she knows is right and who quietly refuses to back down.
<br />
<br />
For inspiring young people like me to be unafraid of speaking up to make
changes to the world, Malala is truly a shining example of an
international leader. For this reason, I think Malala Yousafzai should be Role Model of the Year.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224445631717074628.post-88775656963866690632013-11-25T09:51:00.001-08:002013-11-25T13:26:55.573-08:00We Reached 30,000 Page Views! Thanks Everyone!<br />
It's been almost 3 years since we started this blog. Sometimes we work on it diligently, (mostly summers and holidays). Other times, we have so much school work and other fun things going on that we barely have time to write . . . and you know, writing coherently takes time. But somehow, as we fret about what new things to write about and not having time to write, readers out there are still discovering us and giving us encouragement through comments, emails, and tweets!<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBnlRVzJAcxt38fsG_nGt9UKXdi1qHgNuRi55_2ZFioQ3tnXDjT8UVmGz1tMKgvH8ngEGt9kcp9C-qn5fe34ln6CYZQZruT1uROOe7l0eSfysQhk9-G4u4Ik6mAe0LqhdEjb64AI81ekJg/s1600/milestone.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="215" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBnlRVzJAcxt38fsG_nGt9UKXdi1qHgNuRi55_2ZFioQ3tnXDjT8UVmGz1tMKgvH8ngEGt9kcp9C-qn5fe34ln6CYZQZruT1uROOe7l0eSfysQhk9-G4u4Ik6mAe0LqhdEjb64AI81ekJg/s400/milestone.gif" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Thanks for staying with us and continuing to read our blog.<br />
<br />
Eileen and Chloe<br />
(The gif above is from <a href="http://boffinart.tumblr.com/">boffinart.tumblr.com</a>). Follow her there if you have a tumblr account!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224445631717074628.post-76931882232232317942013-10-03T07:28:00.001-07:002013-10-03T07:28:29.540-07:00First Things First: ROBOTICS! School started last month, and the robotics team is back to working on...robots. You can read about our nail biting experiences with Mindstorm Middle School Robotics in <a href="http://coolasiankids.blogspot.com/2012/03/robo-games-trilogy_20.html">The Robo Games Trilogy</a>, high school all girls Vex adventure in <a href="http://coolasiankids.blogspot.com/2012/12/competition-made-for-nerds-robotics.html">Competition Made for Nerds</a>, and <a href="http://coolasiankids.blogspot.com/2012/11/high-school-robotics.html">High School Robotics</a>.<br />
<br />
This year's a little different—Our team is called the Omnicats. We're competing in the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) rather than last year's VEX Robotics Competition. What does that mean? FRC is a little bit more complex, for a number of reasons: 1) the robots are bigger; 2) we're not limited to VEX robotics parts (meaning more materials are acceptable); 3) the games are more complex.<br />
<br />
What's the challenge this year? "Ultimate Ascent" requires that we build a robot that throws frisbees through a slot. Check out the video for the challenge this year.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/wa5MGEZNrf0?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
<br />
We're tweaking the robot that last year's senior robotics team built for this competition (because some things definitely didn't work out). We are building a new chasis from scratch using<br />a new mechanum drive system, and we are working on new code, and have a new<br />intake system for the frisbees. It's a long process...but definitely a fun and rewarding one at the end of the day. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkNnf3O8G31Il5ETAiUGmK46wxqJ3XfKQob3WduE5ZOgA3mhR-nsbnOpl07x53-zHVVTvIDLG0Lp1XSmGgevqFSpHFiwK3YtDysBDFWQCpaeEIKirIybnNoRiEaAM2n4qQUv_K_EEt3FKP/s1600/frcrobotics.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkNnf3O8G31Il5ETAiUGmK46wxqJ3XfKQob3WduE5ZOgA3mhR-nsbnOpl07x53-zHVVTvIDLG0Lp1XSmGgevqFSpHFiwK3YtDysBDFWQCpaeEIKirIybnNoRiEaAM2n4qQUv_K_EEt3FKP/s400/frcrobotics.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My friends working on dismantling last season's robot.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Even though I have to be in school from 8 to noon on Saturdays to help out with the robot, I enjoy it because my friends are there with me. And besides, it's not like we don't have the time to goof off.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMG_Pbvh6vsMC_Gt2-YTdz71F8EhO7RRvRh8Ser6_SZRvFOvBYclLq-BxAdKocUDQbX5GGG5kA7hQBCN4Pl084eF2pW9O5tbqH8SXlbBaxSgmkzYzok4u_1JwcCfFdeXYSV6nR-6IhKA1a/s1600/frcrobotics2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMG_Pbvh6vsMC_Gt2-YTdz71F8EhO7RRvRh8Ser6_SZRvFOvBYclLq-BxAdKocUDQbX5GGG5kA7hQBCN4Pl084eF2pW9O5tbqH8SXlbBaxSgmkzYzok4u_1JwcCfFdeXYSV6nR-6IhKA1a/s400/frcrobotics2.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See? We're not always working.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Anyway, robotics is a great chance for me to unwind after a long day of school—they're not joking around when they say that senior year of high school is tough!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224445631717074628.post-61401150811361339142013-09-22T23:12:00.001-07:002013-09-22T23:12:26.398-07:00Book Reccomendations: John Green and Tamora PierceThis summer, I participated in the <a href="http://www.lapl.org/">Los Angeles Public Library</a> reading club and read away. Books are the best company during the summer. Even though I enjoy watching television shows and playing on the computer, sometimes getting away from electronics and just reading a book is really satisfying. Even though we posted a book list a little while ago, it was on books written by Asian authors. Those books we love a lot, but we also have a few favorites not related to Asian culture, acceptance and whatnot.<br />
<br />Let us start with one of our favorite authors, John Green. (I've only read two as of now but my sister has read quite a few). As a teenager, I feel like I can really connect to his books and they all have really deep meanings to them. The two I have read are: <u>The Fault in Our Stars</u> and <u>Looking for Alaska</u>. <u>The Fault in Our Stars</u> is about a a girl named Hazel Grace Lancaster. Hazel has cancer. She goes to a cancer therapy class and one day she meets Augustus Waters a cancer-free, funny, handsome, and smart guy. I don't want to give anything away because it's seriously such a wonderful book you have to read it. (Although I must warn you: All of John Green's books are inspiring, adorable, heart-wrenching, and wanting to crawl into fetal position-worthy).<br /><br /> <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnTpaHCi6i0Hsrw9XGuVDeM9N_DR26jOq_hN_kqKfT2GoCzXmviTr64E73OShIrHv77jgKOrbrynvLSmrLh2EEj2U1hgznmB7xPwrZs3jiN1seBGUWoWzc-_Wmu4cdS6f2bZvIl5vYN50K/s1600/looking-for-alaska.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnTpaHCi6i0Hsrw9XGuVDeM9N_DR26jOq_hN_kqKfT2GoCzXmviTr64E73OShIrHv77jgKOrbrynvLSmrLh2EEj2U1hgznmB7xPwrZs3jiN1seBGUWoWzc-_Wmu4cdS6f2bZvIl5vYN50K/s320/looking-for-alaska.jpg" width="219" /></a></div>
<br />I liked <u>Looking For Alaska</u> as well. It's about a boy named Miles Halter. (whew I almost forgot his name because I'm so used to calling him Pudge.) A lot of people compare Pudge to Holden Caulfield from <u>Catcher in the Rye</u>, but personally I think Miles is a great character in his own right. Basically, Miles goes to boarding school and meets the beautiful and exciting, Alaska Young, intimidating yet sweet Colonel, and the fox, Takumi, and a few others. Basically, Pudge has friends for once. And he just does a lot of crazy things that touching and inspiring.<br />
<br />
Over the summer, I also got into the <a href="http://www.tamora-pierce.com/books.html%E2%80%8E">Tamora Pierce books</a>. Is it that embarassing since they were in the kids section? Noooo, not at all, I love them. All of Tamora Pierce's books are set in medieval times, and the main characters are girls. I started with <u>Alanna:The First Adventure</u>. Alanna is the protagonist of The First Adventure. She's one of those protagonists you actually root for. I don't know about you but I always get annoyed with the girl protagonists acting like 'ahh i'm so conflicted between this guy or this guy. oh my gosh boy troubles'. Alanna is actually completely the opposite. She has no time for such nonsense!<br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgafFRZYM8HpdjEzEy-FabXFysZiHxryT8345ljrIlmiV2TVcUeS0uuVFWIgR6z5bZAcyI9x-8DUUnUfxpbG1g6uR7kBBQYSZPigF59vgp0jNVTZdO2uuWckmLOSWGdU2Jr13s3n4Ou3Bbi/s1600/alanna.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgafFRZYM8HpdjEzEy-FabXFysZiHxryT8345ljrIlmiV2TVcUeS0uuVFWIgR6z5bZAcyI9x-8DUUnUfxpbG1g6uR7kBBQYSZPigF59vgp0jNVTZdO2uuWckmLOSWGdU2Jr13s3n4Ou3Bbi/s320/alanna.jpg" width="196" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Anyway, most of Tamora Pierce's books come in quartets. I started with The Song of the Lioness quartet, I'm done with the Immortals, and am now going to read the Circle of Magic quartet. She has a few more that I'll read for sure also. Her books are funny, action packed, and also focus on growing up and adolescence. I think they're all quite good for teenagers to read. (I'm not really sure why it's in the kiddy section of the library...I don't think it should be) These books give me so much joy I don't even know why.
It's also really nice getting a warm cup of coffee (except on ridiculously hot days like these maybe a cold drink) and curling up under the covers to read a good book. I'll probably post book recommendations once a month since there are so many good books out there but would take up too much time to read about in this one post.<br />
<br />
Now go read a book!
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224445631717074628.post-48521897189637793822013-08-22T21:57:00.000-07:002013-08-23T10:02:44.720-07:00Bakuman!<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For all you manga and anime fans out there, I have a treat for you:</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p2">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6uQi_xtdKEUK_eS9K8iOl_wXU5i7arbZzzYSsuqUrLJCtaFy-LBarU4ufHDJ-3xo1RpouQOYC8NfR-522XTg-xDXGhXu5V0VbEoLnnWcTAECCeuik9crMR_3oBFdKKNUm8e_cDKkCyZqu/s1600/bakuman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6uQi_xtdKEUK_eS9K8iOl_wXU5i7arbZzzYSsuqUrLJCtaFy-LBarU4ufHDJ-3xo1RpouQOYC8NfR-522XTg-xDXGhXu5V0VbEoLnnWcTAECCeuik9crMR_3oBFdKKNUm8e_cDKkCyZqu/s400/bakuman.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BAKUMAN.</span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you're at all familiar with popular manga and anime, I'm sure you've heard of <i>Bakuman</i>. It was one of Shounen Weekly Jump's most popular manga series, and for good reason: the story is unique, the characters lovable, and the art detailed and fun.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Most of the manga I've read is centered around a few topics: high school romance, battles, magic, and cat ears. Yes. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXHen0oSbneQhTJOgJml0PljIat1mHnlLaG6DSzHQo-gwYEL_2TtAHRW-08V4Oyy95N1XSnbMaC_evZto-qfEvYHPeRru7g1q6yLZgkvUZjMw5rA5dyq7Npe83r9Eti1zSoHLg_OuAZLEu/s1600/kamisamahajimemashita.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXHen0oSbneQhTJOgJml0PljIat1mHnlLaG6DSzHQo-gwYEL_2TtAHRW-08V4Oyy95N1XSnbMaC_evZto-qfEvYHPeRru7g1q6yLZgkvUZjMw5rA5dyq7Npe83r9Eti1zSoHLg_OuAZLEu/s400/kamisamahajimemashita.jpg" width="237" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Look at the super-cliche adorableness! And the cat ears!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While I very much enjoy a good cliche shoujo manga myself, they're getting to be pretty predictable. <i>Bakuman</i> came as a breath of fresh air, and it is now without a doubt my favorite manga. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When my friend first recommended </span><i style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Bakuman</i><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> to me, I was skeptical. It old him I would read it, but I kept on putting it off—the whole "slice of life" genre didn't really appeal to me. But when I finally got around to checking it out, I couldn't put it down. </span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What's it about, you ask? <i>Bakuman</i> follows two boys, Mashiro Moritaka and Takagi Akito, as they chase their dream of becoming successful and popular mangakas (manga-writers). The two learn all about what goes into making a popular manga as they develop their own unique style under the pen name of "Ashirogi Muto". Behind the scenes, readers get to take a look at what the editorial department at Jump! is like.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Along the way, the Mashiro and Takagi encounter many rival mangakas as well as discover the benefits of supporting and encouraging each other to do their best. Among these rivals is a manga-obsessed genius, a righteous and outspoken not-genius, and a genius who hates the idea of having to do work (yes, that includes drawing manga).</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUkW5BrMuadNv4ZB9Ynou1-IQySOugmZqGxu74AgCoBEYy5uQMw4q-tp4MovIADh9oaSkADKwxbWANbX0xsUJ8lQprm76qa6Z8-92z5KU4LC96wDSIW5-fcgLBhufK3E77PEi3P56qlLk/s1600/Bakuman.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="268" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjUkW5BrMuadNv4ZB9Ynou1-IQySOugmZqGxu74AgCoBEYy5uQMw4q-tp4MovIADh9oaSkADKwxbWANbX0xsUJ8lQprm76qa6Z8-92z5KU4LC96wDSIW5-fcgLBhufK3E77PEi3P56qlLk/s320/Bakuman.png" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The main cast.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The story also has a romance aspect to it. Mashiro's ultimate goal is to marry his long-time crush and girl of his dreams, Azuki Miho, after his manga becomes an anime and she becomes the leading voice actress. Meanwhile, Takagi struggles with a number of interested girls while maintaining a relationship with his girlfriend, Miyoshi Kaya.</span></div>
<div class="p2">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://images.ados.fr/1/bd-manga/bakuman/photo/hd/1477395147/2403966ab1/bakuman-azuki-miho-big.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://images.ados.fr/1/bd-manga/bakuman/photo/hd/1477395147/2403966ab1/bakuman-azuki-miho-big.jpg" width="232" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The girl Mashiro loves, Azuki Miho.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For someone like me, a teenager who would love to make a living off of doing something creative, this manga is truly inspiring and fun. I love the camaraderie between Mashiro, Takagi, and even their rivals, and the story moves at a quick enough pace that it's hard for me to bring myself to stop reading. </span><br />
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I have to admit that it's hard to summarize without losing a lot of the fun and excitement, but it's definitely worth checking out. The complete box set comes out on October 1st, and if you preorder it now, it's $143 for all 20 volumes :3 (I'm still trying to convince my mom to let me get it, because it's a total steal). It is well-worth the read, after all!</span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="p1">
<br /></div>
</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224445631717074628.post-34567772950971357112013-08-13T18:09:00.000-07:002013-08-13T18:09:26.786-07:00The Last Book Store in DTLA<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:DoNotOptimizeForBrowser/>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
This summer, I spent a lot of time in downtown LA because of
the three week-long creative writing class I took. After I became friends with
my classmates, we hung out and explored downtown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a lot of fun.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the discoveries I made with my friends is a book
store called <a href="http://lastbookstorela.com/">The Last Book Store</a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Last Bookstore is a used book store near Pershing Square at 453 S. Spring
Street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not in the absolute safest
of areas and definitely has some shady characters hanging around. I would not
recommend going there alone at night. In keeping with the shadiness of the
area, when you first enter the book store, there is a security guard sitting at
a desk in the foyer. I definitely felt safer seeing him there.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPvJNGr0YKiRBtbD100QRPRS1ZPPvKejsOi5j66zYRQdN5C3MB2u9mCl5nqALuUuCytnmj4LXGRAWcWZl9ig_Xwd0U_c4q7EcDwtU7NZWxkBp0v0T0wQ0ov19rGQ_FJigLq9BX4sPQff_/s1600/2013-08-04+18.10.53.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPvJNGr0YKiRBtbD100QRPRS1ZPPvKejsOi5j66zYRQdN5C3MB2u9mCl5nqALuUuCytnmj4LXGRAWcWZl9ig_Xwd0U_c4q7EcDwtU7NZWxkBp0v0T0wQ0ov19rGQ_FJigLq9BX4sPQff_/s320/2013-08-04+18.10.53.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Store window.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Once you step past the foyer and into the actual store, your
first impression will be a big “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">wow.</i>”
The Last Book Store used to be an old bank that has been closed for
decades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It occupies two floors of the
building. It still has the beautiful original art deco ceiling, balconies and
mezzanines of the old bank. <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The books on the first floor are organized by categories, a
lot like those of a regular bookstore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s a good place to look for required reading books for school at
extremely low prices: most of the books here are $4-6, and a lot of them are in
great condition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The first floor also
has some nice sofas to lounge on while taking a look at some of the books.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB2gY4v2HVme8n_iILFwkWC0RzM3PIRgMFVuFwjPiXmpi-0QjY3T_wgOYMoFjIrtdaRdrJxQcKdy-30AJzrEfiDvi3xsKw7ZwUirZgiXxONKevU0cXyUYWdTK7zjjlQ5RdbdkXEoSVjmlJ/s1600/2013-08-04+17.49.45.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB2gY4v2HVme8n_iILFwkWC0RzM3PIRgMFVuFwjPiXmpi-0QjY3T_wgOYMoFjIrtdaRdrJxQcKdy-30AJzrEfiDvi3xsKw7ZwUirZgiXxONKevU0cXyUYWdTK7zjjlQ5RdbdkXEoSVjmlJ/s320/2013-08-04+17.49.45.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some antiques in stores off the second floor.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The second floor, however, is not as neatly organized, but
it’s definitely a treasure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The shelves
are piled high with books of all genres—perhaps not in the nicest
conditions—but don’t count them out just because they’re not as nice as the
books on the first floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The books on
the second floor are literally $1 each.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Isn’t that incredible?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s almost
that the books are organized randomly, because it really forces you to take a
look at books of all genres.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second
floor is also home to the Vault of Horror and True Crime, which is literally an
old bank vault filled with—you guessed it—horror and true crime books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman";"> <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCT0g0MjDiorNtf2brCsVKzPx_9nY5Y2DkMKtwAG2joO8oL5nn60qfPoDG8I3BxWcQtbuqmq3lxVE8Kj-gkRXsnpeNlVvBL4bC1qU8-eZTOlg64xR05lE5KKctXEvYfEkEfDCQeWV1QWOj/s1600/2013-08-04+17.32.39.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCT0g0MjDiorNtf2brCsVKzPx_9nY5Y2DkMKtwAG2joO8oL5nn60qfPoDG8I3BxWcQtbuqmq3lxVE8Kj-gkRXsnpeNlVvBL4bC1qU8-eZTOlg64xR05lE5KKctXEvYfEkEfDCQeWV1QWOj/s320/2013-08-04+17.32.39.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Vault of Horrors</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="tab-stops: 184.5pt;">
Next time you’re visiting downtown
LA, be sure to check out this great store.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Or, if you’re not in LA but in the area, try taking the metro—maybe
you’ll find other hidden treasures.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224445631717074628.post-12626555602515386552013-08-07T00:43:00.001-07:002013-08-07T00:43:52.371-07:00A Whole Day of Wussy Camping-at the El Capitan Canyon<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:DocumentProperties>
<o:Template>Normal.dotm</o:Template>
<o:Revision>0</o:Revision>
<o:TotalTime>0</o:TotalTime>
<o:Pages>1</o:Pages>
<o:Words>305</o:Words>
<o:Characters>1742</o:Characters>
<o:Company>NumberNine Consulting</o:Company>
<o:Lines>14</o:Lines>
<o:Paragraphs>3</o:Paragraphs>
<o:CharactersWithSpaces>2139</o:CharactersWithSpaces>
<o:Version>12.0</o:Version>
</o:DocumentProperties>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves>false</w:TrackMoves>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridHorizontalSpacing>
<w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>18 pt</w:DrawingGridVerticalSpacing>
<w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayHorizontalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>0</w:DisplayVerticalDrawingGridEvery>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:DontAutofitConstrainedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
</w:Compatibility>
</w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" LatentStyleCount="276">
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]-->
<!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->
<!--StartFragment-->
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Camping can be fun when you spend your time outdoors without
the distraction of the internet, and you get to sleep in a sleeping bag in a
tent. For kids, camping means playing in the woods or beach all day, making a
camp fire, grilling hamburgers and hot dogs, or roasting marshmallows to make
s’mores.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
However, if you have parents who are such city folks and who
think they are too old to go roughing it, what can you do to enjoy the camping
life? Well, in Southern California, there is an experience called “glamping”
where you can satisfy everyone. Glamping is “glamour camping”…well at least
that’s what my parents call it. I personally call it wussy camping. We decided
to go wussy camping in <a href="http://www.elcapitancanyon.com/">El Capitan Canyon</a> for a day. One WHOLE day in the great
outdoors.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbL8P3UOVc7xELCm39HgIchTlHFVicGkqR3ugrxoKgqemZgYxwOjcz8r8hzMIncEACKzQ8d5syhhFC_kCs2qdYky6O-f4J7TGF0L4spGmabY63DVZBmgp0CaGLUF8fMwPDjjb9AlZtUDv3/s1600/el+capitan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbL8P3UOVc7xELCm39HgIchTlHFVicGkqR3ugrxoKgqemZgYxwOjcz8r8hzMIncEACKzQ8d5syhhFC_kCs2qdYky6O-f4J7TGF0L4spGmabY63DVZBmgp0CaGLUF8fMwPDjjb9AlZtUDv3/s1600/el+capitan.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
They have luxury tents with beds and linen and comfortable mattresses
along with their many luxurious cabins, pool, and wifi hot spots. All of the
cabins have mini fridges, microwaves, coffee makers, fans, heating, showers,
the whole shebang! So what’s different from a hotel, you say? Well they have a
fire pit outside so you can get a tiny part of the camping experience. Along
with bugs and wild animals (we saw skunks, squirrels, rabbits, and lizards. No
bears as of now) of course. The cabins are also spaced out so each family has
their own little area which make it seem sort of isolated I guess. (But to add
to the glamping part they even have a spa a little walk away and a market and
restaurant for those who forget to bring firewood, matches, or any food at all.
Then you could just go and get a hamburger and fries.) <br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxE8vs_dY3tQRpqtPpowfVYzsPjW9AQwbd3frYB-WyfoFgPXoKh56dMWSxijU5X6CquiDb2nTpESdGkN7e2eMzhAXMLWiZq3LlTQuPhgCK3AHm5JsWgcs3lPAU_0vgtBf9elpJgysfFQ8m/s1600/2013-08-05+15.37.42.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxE8vs_dY3tQRpqtPpowfVYzsPjW9AQwbd3frYB-WyfoFgPXoKh56dMWSxijU5X6CquiDb2nTpESdGkN7e2eMzhAXMLWiZq3LlTQuPhgCK3AHm5JsWgcs3lPAU_0vgtBf9elpJgysfFQ8m/s320/2013-08-05+15.37.42.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cabin with nice bed for adults, loft for kids, kitchen and bathroom</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wussy as it may be, we had fun starting our own fire, hiking
along the trails up the mountain, and stargazing at nighttime. Out here, unlike
hotels or your own house, you can get a clear view of the many stars in our big
galaxy. I could even see the milky way and a shooting star! It was very
fascinating and fun pretending to be adventurous as we sat around the fire pit
outside our cabin making s’mores and bacon only a few steps away from wifi and
technology. This is a perfect place for everyone in the family.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/OngKvEoW1vM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
</div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224445631717074628.post-62430665885975114532013-07-29T09:02:00.000-07:002013-07-29T09:02:15.493-07:00What? I have to go to Summer School?<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Summer break is one of the most anticipated times of the year for students, and it's easy to guess why: no school, no homework, no grades, and fun! During the school year, I always look forward to summer vacation because it's always nice to have a break from stress and high school.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">But about two weeks into the summer, I begin to worry about what to do with myself... I'd played all the video games I'd wanted to play, slept in as much as I wanted, and was basically just an all-around lazy bum, but I wasn't doing anything that was truly productive. I now understand that being a lazy bum can only be fun for so long.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That's where summer class comes in: Chloe took her t-shirt making class and just finished up an intensive painting class at UCLA, and I'm taking a creative writing class as part of the Community Arts Partnership Summer Arts program in downtown LA, sponsored by Cal Arts. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">At CAPSA, I've been spending every day from 10-5 writing. Though the focus is on poetry, I have had some chances to work on writing short stories, and I've definitely developed a love for poetry, too. The best part is that the class doesn't even feel like <i>class—</i>it's just me and a bunch of writerly friends...writing. Being in the class has helped me realize that writing may be something I would like to pursue in the future. Even though it's nice to lounge around the house, having work to do has been something of a relief to both of us. Imagine that!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A lot of my friends are at summer camp right now, which is another productive way to spend your summer. At least these organized activities keep us from wasting away our lives on the living room couch!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I say all of this now, but I know that when my class is done, I'll be back in front of the TV killing brain cells. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://memeblender.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/foul-bachelor-frog-productive-day.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="318" src="http://memeblender.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/foul-bachelor-frog-productive-day.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Story of my life.<br />...when I'm not in class.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How do you like to spend your summer? </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224445631717074628.post-7424937144966871332013-07-14T12:16:00.000-07:002013-07-14T12:16:24.477-07:00Compartes Chocolate and Craft In America<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I went to a chocolate appreciation/printing workshop at this funky place called Craft in America when summer first started. The class was not so much as making chocolate itself (although that would've been fun) but making chocolate wrappers using the monotype printing process. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0qProyyxwGqJBMGlaw5zh_TsMLKJRevCrgLelKi6bdJji7drTHiLM1rwIs4qEQ5BT8GTKc2v4IDQfohc2lK6ytPbrOIZkl-38tGbyjLktKK6syk_OvOWIsl3M9sA_CVGA8GJzUzXVohtK/s1600/2013-06-15+13.48.36.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0qProyyxwGqJBMGlaw5zh_TsMLKJRevCrgLelKi6bdJji7drTHiLM1rwIs4qEQ5BT8GTKc2v4IDQfohc2lK6ytPbrOIZkl-38tGbyjLktKK6syk_OvOWIsl3M9sA_CVGA8GJzUzXVohtK/s200/2013-06-15+13.48.36.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and the monotype printer</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
In the class, while we worked on designing the wrappers, we were supplied with chocolate truffles from <a href="http://compartes.com/">Compartes</a>. <span style="font-size: small;">( 912 S. Barrington Avenue Los Angeles CA 90049)</span> Jonathan Grahm from Compartes told us about how took over his family's chocolate business as a teenager and transformed and expanded it all over the world. He also talked about how he came up with the designs for his chocolate bar wrappers, and how he printed designs onto he chocolate truffles. The chocolate was delicious but the intricate designs on both the wrappers and the chocolates (the colors being edible of course) are art in themselves. Each chocolate tells a story, with their vibrant colors and taste. Depending on the theme whether it's a holiday, an event, or different parts of the world, the chocolate and the design both match the theme. All of the chocolates are amazing (yet expensive). </div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkfukwM5eKbr3FwmuGoMPYcM9sNj12bj5gkuZTFfjkXF7_T_74eBwyAyRierRpA3HfVt2n1xbIzhcxrZZT6vwTVUBioGscfiK62Wuu6GMDy0HsBI_PL5fPhxecHqFeroGdZZf9W21qHPyD/s1600/1371324820441.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkfukwM5eKbr3FwmuGoMPYcM9sNj12bj5gkuZTFfjkXF7_T_74eBwyAyRierRpA3HfVt2n1xbIzhcxrZZT6vwTVUBioGscfiK62Wuu6GMDy0HsBI_PL5fPhxecHqFeroGdZZf9W21qHPyD/s200/1371324820441.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yes, these are truffles.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6V7e6dnYOovCPdPVbq_Bth4blESBEbFKerthla6zLuG2FYXDPLJyB9nlo6_UG0L9fJ6MmQMpjneXn8_jDOO-Edr113CR-O_xhBuWbNWDdE1ljh8hFqdsxiVQfuouxCyKeN9dqVdW5lOR0/s1600/2013-06-15+12.30.27.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6V7e6dnYOovCPdPVbq_Bth4blESBEbFKerthla6zLuG2FYXDPLJyB9nlo6_UG0L9fJ6MmQMpjneXn8_jDOO-Edr113CR-O_xhBuWbNWDdE1ljh8hFqdsxiVQfuouxCyKeN9dqVdW5lOR0/s200/2013-06-15+12.30.27.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Jonathan Grahm is the owner, artist, and chocolatier of <a href="http://compartes.com/">Compartes</a>. He integrates art, flavors, different cultures, and different styles together to create his gourmet chocolates. For his newest chocolate series, Jonathan researched graphic design and different cultures around the world to create the perfect chocolate that corresponds with each place around the world he based his chocolate off of.<br /><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaKVdZdfhBoWvV2gbJuTj5A1r5KBIVb3ZUkj-SgLfE0XybkxFTnB7DT5251DbPEVzHN6GUm64xiFqh0WL5mUnCt0KZAYZhyphenhyphenYqsSsbYz0Atetp6-rpMaIrtr8625CIQMDGhhPLl0bh-yx9J/s1600/2013-06-15+14.09.30.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaKVdZdfhBoWvV2gbJuTj5A1r5KBIVb3ZUkj-SgLfE0XybkxFTnB7DT5251DbPEVzHN6GUm64xiFqh0WL5mUnCt0KZAYZhyphenhyphenYqsSsbYz0Atetp6-rpMaIrtr8625CIQMDGhhPLl0bh-yx9J/s200/2013-06-15+14.09.30.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Compartes chocolate bars</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div>
</div>
<div>
Jonathan's designs are especially amazing since he never even studied graphic design before.<br />
<br />
Making wrappers using monotype printing was also very fun. We would paint on a piece of plastic and then place a piece of paper on top and roll them both through a machine to transfer our designs onto the paper. While we designed the wrappers we also got to eat some delicious chocolate truffles from Compartes.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUTwXGoqbtux0SmqqPf4FSRjZVeaYhyO3HfI4GTv2xsc7MpXNqvGW8I7dq3Mzpr6BqAtgkBPXhLmnJ-pxWJn1MKogAobZewbTVXBcZX3IacOQE3tTR5MshD9Z0F8ZhLbBUKISgaSNCzpht/s1600/2013-06-15+14.08.43.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUTwXGoqbtux0SmqqPf4FSRjZVeaYhyO3HfI4GTv2xsc7MpXNqvGW8I7dq3Mzpr6BqAtgkBPXhLmnJ-pxWJn1MKogAobZewbTVXBcZX3IacOQE3tTR5MshD9Z0F8ZhLbBUKISgaSNCzpht/s200/2013-06-15+14.08.43.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My chocolate wrapper</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The paper printing class was sponsored by <a href="http://www.craftinamerica.org/press/story_2244.php">Craft In America</a> who has been doing some interesting workshops on art and food. The class was taught by Christina Carroll and is held in the Craft in America building located at 8415 West Third Street. The building is small, but has some beautiful craft and art on display.<br />
<br />
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224445631717074628.post-55392987212349116522013-07-09T22:24:00.001-07:002013-07-09T22:24:39.197-07:00A Great Documentary Film: Somewhere BetweenLast weekend, we watched a documentary film on Netflix called "Somewhere Between", directed by Linda Goldstein Knowlton, that follows the lives of four adopted Chinese-American teen girls. I have a few adopted Chinese friends, and I guess I never really thought much of their back stories, but the film was incredibly eye-opening. Each of the girls has her own struggles with her identity: Fang, who vividly remembers being abandoned on a sidewalk, continues to return to China and reach out to other orphaned girls; Hayley longs to know the reasons for her abandonment and seeks out her birth family; Jenna, a top student at a prestigious academy, constantly busies herself in after school activities to keep her mind off of the questions surrounding her abandonment; Ann, a pre-teen living in suburban Pennsylvania, doesn't show any particular interest in her biological family but is jealous when Hayley finds hers. <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://addins.kwwl.com/blogs/glasshalffull/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/sb.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://addins.kwwl.com/blogs/glasshalffull/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/sb.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
One of the things that is so striking about the girls in the film is their resilience: through their struggles growing up "somewhere between", the girls demonstrate an intelligence and understanding far beyond their years. <br />
<br />
I have a few adopted Chinese friends. Sometimes I wonder how they feel about their birth families and adoption. I don't quite have the gall to ask them about it myself, perhaps because I know how delicate the subject can be, especially considering Chinese culture's pattern of abandoning baby girls in favor of raising boys. "Somewhere Between" provides a lot of insight into the various thoughts and feelings of different adopted Chinese girls. The film beautifully captures a wide range of emotions—happiness, despair, loneliness, curiosity—and had me laughing and crying along with the girls. I would highly recommend it; it's a film that everyone should watch, regardless of whether or not they know any adopted Chinese kids, because anyone can relate to its theme of being an outsider and trying to find a place in society.<br />
<br />
I give it a two thumbs up. Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224445631717074628.post-70752743840896569372013-07-03T11:20:00.001-07:002013-07-08T21:52:22.388-07:00T-Shirt Making Class and Lumi Co.So for the entire last week, I was at a T-Shirt making class with a friend of mine. The class is a program for high school students at <a href="http://artcenter.edu/" target="_blank">ArtCenter</a> in Pasadena. It was also, much to our surprise, a business class (more so than a t-shirt making class). We learned how to license our products and copyright our designs, which of our designs would sell better, and how to advertise our designs.<br />
<br />
Before this camp, I had made t-shirts with my cousin using screen printing which is very time consuming. I wanted to take the class so that I can learn different ways to print on t-shirts that are both more efficient and to place more detailed graphics on them.<br />
<br />
At this Art Center camp, we first designed what we wanted to put on our t-shirts and scanned them into the computer. You can also draw your designs directly on the computer too. Then we formatted it on a 11x17 canvas size and turned the images into negatives.<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPVncXAF6ps2lnSgBLgB0Vaat5pGcKLK6kYZsTlCAdsfofviPJaCh5C8i1k4-339EtlKbLt1YENtfOrESdIe4vZYtgVN8kvQcQUnZtYKajKC7LeOGEu4WhCUQ2Ns1Yf8JjJoy_FtieRis/s1600/girl+and+books+negative.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="207" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQPVncXAF6ps2lnSgBLgB0Vaat5pGcKLK6kYZsTlCAdsfofviPJaCh5C8i1k4-339EtlKbLt1YENtfOrESdIe4vZYtgVN8kvQcQUnZtYKajKC7LeOGEu4WhCUQ2Ns1Yf8JjJoy_FtieRis/s320/girl+and+books+negative.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Negative of my T-shirt design</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
We emailed our designs to Lumi Co. who then printed our designs out on film. Lumi Co. is a company that has created a new type of dye called Inkodye that is clear when rolled on to a surface, but becomes colored when exposed to direct sunlight. The Inkodye colors come through the transparent part of our film, but remains clear where the film is black because the black parts block the sunlight and prevents the dye from activating. If the film has grey tones, then a little bit more light gets in to form a gradient. What's more amazing is the fact that Lumi Co was founded by a young woman called <a href="https://twitter.com/jessegenet">Jesse Genet</a>, who started the company when she was only 16. We met her. She was really nice. Her company is in this artist's colony at the <a href="http://www.thebreweryartistlofts.com/">Brewery</a>, a live work place for cool artists.<br />
<br />
Here's a link to <a href="http://lumi.co/" target="_blank">Lumi Co's</a> website where they explain how the print process takes place. <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvVgImbJNHfCTXx5URrL2OHX6qiS5nCEQ96YQ3opfoIby9SKZpzcxrG3cybL3F2HG5hXIkR41MDhMNusg8wnjPJzOVEdIiTxAswh28ijMLzN-oQwfetnLg31q2r0o-ACrW-mU6NIz-xUX4/s960/tshirts.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvVgImbJNHfCTXx5URrL2OHX6qiS5nCEQ96YQ3opfoIby9SKZpzcxrG3cybL3F2HG5hXIkR41MDhMNusg8wnjPJzOVEdIiTxAswh28ijMLzN-oQwfetnLg31q2r0o-ACrW-mU6NIz-xUX4/s320/tshirts.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My teammates modeling the T-shirts I made.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
With the Lumi Co. dyes you can experiment a lot more than you can with screen printing. However, if you want your designs to look exact with more colors, I would suggest screen printing. Both are very time consuming (so you might want to get a company to print t-shirts if you were looking for mass production). However, DYI is a lot of fun to do. I'll be making my own T-shirts soon, so look for them my store site at <a href="http://twopears.storenvy.com/" target="_blank">http://twopears.storenvy.com/</a>.<br />
<br />
By the way, I sold three of my T-shirts for a total of $90! Not bad eh? <br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224445631717074628.post-56353650551189285182013-06-21T20:43:00.001-07:002013-06-23T09:44:56.505-07:002013 V3con!<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you haven't already heard, I was invited to speak at V3con last weekend on a panel about internet safety. V3con is a digital media conference, presented by the Asian American Journalists Association, that focuses on Asian American Pacific Islander communications. It was such a rewarding experience for me - it's not everyday that I get to exercise my public speaking skills, let alone in front of a bunch of adults!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Chloe and I worked together to revamp our business cards from last year. Unfortunately, she couldn't make it to the conference this year, but I was able to hand out most of the cards we printed. I'm so proud :D</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Last year, Chloe and I attended the conference as volunteers, so it was really neat being able to go as a guest this time around. I had the opportunity to meet some seriously cool people whom I hope to keep in touch with (I got their business cards, too!). Hopefully you can all check out V3con in the future if you get the chance; it's really inspiring and fun!<br /></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVIKSQ_PZnjeoY31mfJp7qLxzG06d207-tvxw45TPzxP10cMo7FgJZZmF2qyihiKngZVNhVpUq20GFeHrctwfbMsRS_3m6Dfgf9PaU7yDYWILEnoY-JjJ-KIaCF6u_KMxWrrHJYpXX_VQG/s1600/BM3GYfXCUAAQliu.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVIKSQ_PZnjeoY31mfJp7qLxzG06d207-tvxw45TPzxP10cMo7FgJZZmF2qyihiKngZVNhVpUq20GFeHrctwfbMsRS_3m6Dfgf9PaU7yDYWILEnoY-JjJ-KIaCF6u_KMxWrrHJYpXX_VQG/s400/BM3GYfXCUAAQliu.jpg" width="205" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me (left) and one of the cool people I met at V3con, Mallika Bajaj (right)!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did end up writing a blog post about the panel I spoke on, which you can check out <a href="http://bit.ly/12bhET9" target="_blank">here</a>: </span> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224445631717074628.post-53027305883532993292013-06-06T21:35:00.002-07:002013-06-07T00:41:36.407-07:00Driving Troubles<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Did I tell you guys about how I got my driver's license?! I've had it for about a couple of months. I can finally drive myself places now!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But...I kind of got into an accident already. Don't worry, nobody got hurt; it was just a bumper thumper. Still, it was a real bummer—my mom had literally just been warning me the day before about insurance rates, and then I went and rear-ended another car. I guess traffic was so bad that I got bored and forgot to pay attention....big mistake. I guess I really met the "bad driving" Asian standard. Definitely not the one I wanted to meet.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It looks like I won't be driving for a while because my insurance rate went up. So...lesson learned: don't go thinking you're cool and stop paying attention to the road. I feel so uncool right now. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But at least I can always be proud of myself for not getting hurt.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW4PGbWZ9PFHKKZ9RMyQuV2zdNdN4qFMnCDjtpWwoIh52icSEz3qZBjHO44uYhrfnbPI2XlJVhii73V9f-KLPDuxNwMVOmrUNQiz6ERpgtcMqfz3mIVopcg_Dnkfs3k4XGihqF6owpmwfb/s1600/got-in-car-accident-did-not-die.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW4PGbWZ9PFHKKZ9RMyQuV2zdNdN4qFMnCDjtpWwoIh52icSEz3qZBjHO44uYhrfnbPI2XlJVhii73V9f-KLPDuxNwMVOmrUNQiz6ERpgtcMqfz3mIVopcg_Dnkfs3k4XGihqF6owpmwfb/s320/got-in-car-accident-did-not-die.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Woooo! I'm so proud!</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224445631717074628.post-65895744023199441222013-05-13T14:06:00.000-07:002013-05-13T14:06:03.069-07:00Mother's Day Card<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/eTyJYAm6ZR0" width="420"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224445631717074628.post-16920333420589491692013-05-10T22:59:00.000-07:002013-05-10T22:59:22.903-07:00Social Media!I was thinking about all the social media sites I use. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, DeviantArt, Tumblr.... <br />
<br />
Which one is your favorite? <br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjlbnm4gQN5YV8rYYx_1P_7XGj1rmb2ga1F3yM6fpOh4N8O5neDBeJ-1YIdgFTBmjuwwZ-UKUEwGvY7E0zmF39c8r8UnkGSLCD1QZNUBFheI2B1whL8X9gxf0XflIdUuROhbn4167VkRrD/s1600/icons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjlbnm4gQN5YV8rYYx_1P_7XGj1rmb2ga1F3yM6fpOh4N8O5neDBeJ-1YIdgFTBmjuwwZ-UKUEwGvY7E0zmF39c8r8UnkGSLCD1QZNUBFheI2B1whL8X9gxf0XflIdUuROhbn4167VkRrD/s1600/icons.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Personally I don't really get the point of Twitter even though our <a href="https://twitter.com/KoolAsianKid" target="_blank">KoolAsianKid</a> Twitter account has over 600 followers. I guess it's nice to get the word out fast about what I am doing, my newest blog post, or find out what other people are saying about topics I'm interested in. From a fan girl's point of view, I do like getting updated on when the next season of my favorite TV show or movie is coming out or follow actors and directors. I also follow topics about teens and Asian Americans and what they are doing.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.facebook.com/CoolAsianKids" target="_blank">Facebook</a> I don't really get either. It's really time consuming though. I guess it is nice being able to keep in touch with old friends and things of that sort...but a lot of times, my friends and I just post pictures of ourselves and wait for "likes" and comments from each other about how nice the photos look. Of course, it's not as if we are going to call each other ugly on Facebook, so the whole exercise is a bit self serving. I have a public CoolAsianKid Facebook page, but that one doesn't get too many followers, and I don't use it much except to occasionally advertise our blog posts.<br />
<br />
If had to choose between the two social media sites Mark Zuckerberg owns, I would have to go with <a href="http://instagram.com/doctorwho_sherlock#" target="_blank">Instagram</a> because I have a...fandom account that I enjoy updating very much. My fan account is everything about the British TV shows Sherlock and Doctor Who, and yes I'm a nerd. But you say that like it's a bad thing. Don't scoff though. My cousin and I have close to 2000 followers in the short five months since we created it. In my opinion, our fandom account is really cool. Check it out <a href="http://instagram.com/doctorwho_sherlock#" target="_blank">http://instagram.com/doctorwho_sherlock#</a>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuQ4S235zs14V9ujHN37UzbR7DfFTk9bpi6F5ck54qoKSJkJzOp_9ogxgdNCdgy4aKrR2pzgkeAvfR7bq8Jg_hVQ6Y4qE8Oh-wHV9QaLNLZ1RWNiNKvznaKJiT0ZF6p5GiiIdx1a1oqKcW/s1600/doctorwhobuttons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuQ4S235zs14V9ujHN37UzbR7DfFTk9bpi6F5ck54qoKSJkJzOp_9ogxgdNCdgy4aKrR2pzgkeAvfR7bq8Jg_hVQ6Y4qE8Oh-wHV9QaLNLZ1RWNiNKvznaKJiT0ZF6p5GiiIdx1a1oqKcW/s320/doctorwhobuttons.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">http://instagram.com/doctorwho_sherlock#</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
TUMBLR. Tumblr is the home for a fangirl or fanboy. I personally like it because there are quite a lot of interesting people and subject matters on it and you can always find people or things that inspire you, or things you can connect to through Tumblr. On Tumblr, you can personalize your account by setting up your own theme for your tumblog....your own music, your own cursor....Anything that portrays your style. Also, unlike Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter it seems like a very safe environment. You don't have to worry about hacks (Like Instagram), or unwanted people on your account or annoying ads everywhere! <br />
<br />
I'm always inspired by the artwork on Tumblr I always find an amazing animation on Tumblr or an amazing artist. It's a very artsy community. Plus they have gifs, which is a series of pictures that appear to be moving like a short animation. See my Cool Asian Kid Tumblr <a href="http://www.tumblr.com/blog/koolasiankids" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW7o3RsmxW_WktUJK2G3lIrK3leavQefBqX5vdUDQQvmUA2MgF5PFYOOOYL_whEfyC5J4ul2S9PnWeGlbaspnQWAdkYgr_gOmZlrw3YuP851QnaxotS05a6w-ukMjtSASPYGT8Uv_4hs8A/s1600/race+gif.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW7o3RsmxW_WktUJK2G3lIrK3leavQefBqX5vdUDQQvmUA2MgF5PFYOOOYL_whEfyC5J4ul2S9PnWeGlbaspnQWAdkYgr_gOmZlrw3YuP851QnaxotS05a6w-ukMjtSASPYGT8Uv_4hs8A/s1600/race+gif.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My plush animals race gif on http://www.tumblr.com/blog/koolasiankids</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
I have an <a href="http://askchibiaang.tumblr.com/" target="_blank">AskChibiAang</a> Tumblr account where I pretend to be Aang from <a href="http://coolasiankids.blogspot.com/2012/05/legend-of-korra.html" target="_blank">Avatar: The Last AirBender</a>, . . . but in a miniature chibi form I created. Other Avatar fans ask me funny questions about Aang's duties, and I respond about what an Avatar has to do. It's fun role playing, and it's funny that other fans like to engage in this kind of role play.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixLRXNNIKFn9UARGluym03LNp9qEsWF5WuE27ncnDz5KVcjE6_nyCXpBE7ytXW-2Adui0jqQYjQgaVxmCwpYpg1UXAkfHeeqzReSjngcaYXlF6Kcqvmn1-kJzWB3pLg3JxkEvPHymGLzAY/s1600/askchibiaang.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixLRXNNIKFn9UARGluym03LNp9qEsWF5WuE27ncnDz5KVcjE6_nyCXpBE7ytXW-2Adui0jqQYjQgaVxmCwpYpg1UXAkfHeeqzReSjngcaYXlF6Kcqvmn1-kJzWB3pLg3JxkEvPHymGLzAY/s1600/askchibiaang.gif" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My gif on http://askchibiaang.tumblr.com/.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
I guess <a href="http://www.deviantart.com/" target="_blank">dA (Deviantart)</a> <a href="http://www.fanfiction.com/" target="_blank">fanfiction</a> and <a href="http://www.youtube.com/" target="_blank">YouTube</a> are also forms of social media. Deviantart is mainly for people posting art and stories, and Youtube is quite fun with a lot of people posting Vlogs (Video-blogs) that are fun, informative and interesting.<br />
<br />People are also into Pinterest and SnapChat now I believe? I haven't tried them. My school discourages us from using SnapChat for our own safety. Some kids have gotten into trouble for posting inappropriate comments on SnapChat which prompted our school to give us a talk about internet safety and social media etiquette. I think social media can be fun, but kids need to be careful about what they post online and not abuse the freedom they get on social media sites to invite unwanted followers or criticisms. By far, the worst offenders I meet on social media are the advertisers who spam me with things they are trying to sell. This makes social media a lot less fun.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224445631717074628.post-56153209067978611042013-04-13T23:35:00.001-07:002013-04-14T21:42:34.861-07:00From Up On Poppy Hill by Studio GhibliWe weren't sure about this <a href="http://coolasiankids.blogspot.com/2012/01/manga-and-anime.html" target="_blank">Studio Ghibli </a>movie because first of all, it is directed by Goro Miyazaki, and not the great master Hayao Miyazaki who directed My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service, etc. Secondly, the movie was not being released widely in Los Angeles. The closest theatre showing the movie is in Westwood, but only once a day, smack in the middle of the day. It's hard to find the right time to go.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi67eIjl6_jm97zAtgFg_gysQEYb2omxJOUURNQFSASHl7b_FTTk7z5y7jS8577_Hwb3lCozDOtQX6RmvguA3l029wxI4pF0RBrQnMB_hALg9AyYvKmZabOG9zunyECd_1VDRnn_ECRi-8l/s1600/poppy+hill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi67eIjl6_jm97zAtgFg_gysQEYb2omxJOUURNQFSASHl7b_FTTk7z5y7jS8577_Hwb3lCozDOtQX6RmvguA3l029wxI4pF0RBrQnMB_hALg9AyYvKmZabOG9zunyECd_1VDRnn_ECRi-8l/s1600/poppy+hill.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
Luckily, our parents are die hard Miyazaki fans, so on Saturday night, we drove all the way out to the Laemmle theatre in North Hollywood to see the movie.<br />
<br />
The movie doesn't have any white knuckle action like most American movies do. The storyline is slow paced: It's about this girl in 1960's Yokohama who waits for her sailor father to come back to her while she takes care of her family's boarding house. She falls in love with a schoolmate who is involved in trying to save an old school club house and she chips in to help.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/GAZUzbJYRNI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br />
The movie should be a classic. The background artwork is stunning, depicting the streets, sights, culture, and architecture of 1960s <a href="http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2156.html" target="_blank">Yokohama</a> and Tokyo: a time when the country was modernizing after World War II to meet the demands of hosting the upcoming Tokyo Olympics. The story seems definitely a departure from Hayao Miyazaki the father, lacking his adventure and action style. However, we may just become Goro Miyazaki fans too with his nostalgic and sentimental story about treasuring the past while moving forward into the future.<br />
<br />
We've visited Yokohama,Tokyo and the Miyazaki Museum in the past and it's fun to be reminded of those places while watching the movie. The movie should definitely be more widely released in the United States. It's recommended for all kids and adults alike.<br />
<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6224445631717074628.post-19288650291928048632013-03-31T03:21:00.001-07:002013-03-31T21:54:16.333-07:00The Amazing British TV Shows<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
I'm not sure if you've realized,<b> </b>but I have a bit of a<b> </b>thing for British TV<b> </b>shows. My parents and my sister think I'm weird. Maybe I am. I first got obsessed with the BBC show "<a href="http://www.coolasiankids.com/home/music/88-theme-from-sherlock" target="_blank">Sherlock</a>". The adaptation, featuring Benendict Cumberbatch as Sherlock and Martin Freeman as Dr. Watson, is (in my opinion) the best adaption of the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00t4pgh" target="_blank">Sherlock Homes</a> mysteries books ever. The creators really followed the books (which I read in 5th grade) even though the TV series is modernized. There are so far only two seasons of the Sherlock stories, but they're coming out with a third one soon. (Only three episodes in each season. But each beautifully done and 1 hour and 30 minutes long) I can't wait! I was so sad after the end of Season 2 of Sherlock, it was SUCH a sad, heart wrenching episode. Those of you who read Sherlock knows that in the Reichbach Falls story, Sherlock supposedly dies!<br />
<br />
In the meantime, American might have noticed that Martin Freeman starred in the Hobbit, as the hobbit Bilbo Baggins, and Benedict Cumberbatch is going to be in the next <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WzJXmY2xrg" target="_blank">Star Trek</a> movie as a villain. I can't wait, because Star Trek is one of my favorite TV and movie series.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYR98fKRTA_RxMkGtAL81HPAEcWxz-j1MlY86ONmHcNPTwaHCfSBwaDdS0JvFB85QARyZ7BqMc3upq2Bt9Jvzf1R-KC_cfMV33eCJnShL_VtFqRSHexgGdqZzzsIx-8EvNc1QDqnDROn5v/s1600/Sherlock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYR98fKRTA_RxMkGtAL81HPAEcWxz-j1MlY86ONmHcNPTwaHCfSBwaDdS0JvFB85QARyZ7BqMc3upq2Bt9Jvzf1R-KC_cfMV33eCJnShL_VtFqRSHexgGdqZzzsIx-8EvNc1QDqnDROn5v/s1600/Sherlock.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
So, in order to compensate for the lack of Sherlock in between seasons, I decided to try out other BBC shows. In particular <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006q2x0" target="_blank">Doctor Who</a>. My gosh what did I get myself into. It's SO good. I can't really tell you if Sherlock or Doctor Who is better because I love them both. It's impossible to give a short summary of Doctor Who. The genre is sci-fi. It's basically about a time traveler named "The Doctor" who's species is a Time Lord. He's the last of his kind because the evil Daleks killed the rest of his race. He travels around in the TARDIS (A blue police box) through time and space and saves people and other alien races. Through the decades that the shows has been on, the Doctor usually time travels with a human companion. He has been portrayed by 11 actors now. Each time he reincarnates into a different doctor for survival. After he reincarnates he remembers everyone but he just looks different from before. I haven't gotten to the eleventh doctor yet. I'm still on the Tenth Doctor. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4CidZ9LmCQ3FwrXWoms-x7WU7PN-31LecSysjS7gwAh9B4opt-wqvoI86fNQACBYe2t-7HXn_6q5oExVbLEJnjNyGX88oIIcQ_3ol5jjH3z1GjfokEKRYoU7x9hx_BmhcoQuHRKBg5MUL/s1600/davidTennant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="125" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4CidZ9LmCQ3FwrXWoms-x7WU7PN-31LecSysjS7gwAh9B4opt-wqvoI86fNQACBYe2t-7HXn_6q5oExVbLEJnjNyGX88oIIcQ_3ol5jjH3z1GjfokEKRYoU7x9hx_BmhcoQuHRKBg5MUL/s200/davidTennant.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">David Tennant as the 10th Doctor. Tardis</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
As a tribute to my love of Doctor Who and Sherlock, my cousin and I have created an Instagram fan account that features images from, and about just these two shows and their stars. We put so much time and care into it that in a mere 4 months, we have gained over 1000 follows. Here is the web address: <a href="http://instagram/doctorwho_sherlock" target="_blank">http://instagram/doctorwho_sherlock</a>. It's a great page. Our followers say so. My cousin and I have even started to make T-shirts and buttons featuring Doctor Who and Sherlock to give away to our followers every time we reach a milestone.<br />
<br />
My family likes to watch <a href="http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/masterpiece/downtonabbey/season2.html" target="_blank">Downton Abbey</a>. This is the one show that we all watch together. (I personally prefer Doctor Who and Sherlock....but...I love Downton Abbey also.) Downton Abbey is. like all British shows, really well done. The sad part is that BBC is not afraid to kill off their own main characters and it makes for completely unexpected, spectacular shows, but also the most heart wrenching moments ever. I bawled my eyes out during the episode of Downton Abbey when yougest sister Sybil died from childbirth, and another episode when leading man Matthew Crawley is killed in a car accident right after he and his wife has a new baby! <br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd8dbQB4napxs_zj4SFEzUACmT-v2PEA16apn7Pl5xrX064ph86yunvbFIXpQBSXTAOmzkl7sHAHCD_XcBMLxLmTbQr6u0-WJojIXPrPPypfq0wBZRon0jq3u2BFmrAlbgqd537LsezFsh/s1600/downton+abbey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd8dbQB4napxs_zj4SFEzUACmT-v2PEA16apn7Pl5xrX064ph86yunvbFIXpQBSXTAOmzkl7sHAHCD_XcBMLxLmTbQr6u0-WJojIXPrPPypfq0wBZRon0jq3u2BFmrAlbgqd537LsezFsh/s200/downton+abbey.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Cast of Downton Abbey</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Well I suggest watching all of these British TV shows. They are completely different from each other, but they're the kind of shows that make you fall in love with the characters and sometimes feel sad about sharing them with anyone else because you want to think you are alone in this great fandom .....Or maybe that's just me.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17268722428720262506noreply@blogger.com0